


Cloudburst

by freckleslikeconstellations



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Meeting, Angst, Animal Death, Arranged Marriage, Business, Cat, Celebrity culture, Class war, College, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, High School, Humour, Insecurity, Manipulation, Multi, Obsession, Romance, Strong Language, Substance Abuse, Suicide, Threads, Underage Drinking, affair, being torn apart, cherry farm, families arguing, media, mild sexual references, people thinking they know best for other people, some physical violence, spoilers for all routes/dlc content, suicide letter, weeds - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 162,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22032157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckleslikeconstellations/pseuds/freckleslikeconstellations
Summary: 'I don't think either of us know what the sun is...we know the rain and perhaps what it is to be one another's umbrella...and I'm sorry to tell you but there is a storm outside our door MC...Even if this storm floods around our feet and destroys all of our worldly possessions I won't stop persisting in this path of protecting you.'But can Juminreallyprotect MC when they've already been ripped apart once, he'll be leaving for college soon, her brother is turning her father against their growing relationship and Chairman Han has Glam Choi being a negative influence on him? Will they get through the storm or drown in it?Jumin Han/MC. High School AU.
Relationships: Chairman Han/Glam Choi, Chairman Han/OC, Choi Sarah/Han Jumin, Han Jumin/Main Character, Han Jumin/Reader, Han Jumin/Rika, Rika/V | Kim Jihyun
Comments: 14
Kudos: 55





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,  
> Hope you enjoy this! 
> 
> I have tweaked the time of when certain things happened in canon to fit in better with what I want to do here. Also, in case anyone is wondering, unless it is otherwise stated MC, Jaehee and Zen are all 18 years-old for the most part of this fic, Jumin, Rika and V are a year older at 19, Seven and Saeran are seventeen and Yoosung is the baby at sixteen. 
> 
> Thanks for all your support. :3

MC had been seven-years-old when the first incident had happened. 

She had been bored. It had been as simple as that. Her parents-Hak-Yeon and Chae-Yeong-had been preoccupied with bills-they always _had_ been careful with money. Her older brother by four years-Bo-Seon, who is built widely with a too small mouth and who utters words that are short and sharp as if he is spitting-had been diligently studying in his room and beginning to live up to life’s ideal by being the perfect South Korean child. MC, on the other hand, had soon grown tired of merely _trying_ to concentrate on her work when in reality she had only been reading the same sentence over and over again due to the fact that the intermittent and loud voices of her parents had caused a knot of anxiety in her stomach. Bo-Seon and their father would have probably told her to get a grip and focus on her task if they’d been in the same place as her. Her mother would have hugged her. Chae-Yeong had not been available for hugs though and so MC had slipped out of her room which is to the right and far end of the apartment from the front door, snuck past the kitchenette where her parents had been around the kitchen table, then the shelves that house various knick-knacks and thin books on electrical appliances and the brown settee-the back of which faces the main door-before she’d gone out of the apartment itself. She’d taken the elevator all the way down to the ground floor. The young, female receptionist had looked at her sole arrival in the empty lobby a bit suspiciously and MC had quickly headed outside. She’d sucked in a breath for a moment and had just stared curiously around her. Bits of green had seemed to intersperse with the grey-brown of the abandoned orphanage that had been opposite the apartment block where she lives and though it had been that way ever since she’d been able to remember anything at all it had stood out to her that day as the closest place where she might be able to hide and escape to. She’d gone across to it. Her heart had thudded as she’d intermingled with the crowd of people on the crossing as if at any moment she might be dragged back to the boring apartment block. No one had stopped her though. No one had called out to her or asked what she had been doing there. She’d made it to the other side and had touched at one of the damp leaves of the ferns that had been just outside the orphanage door as if it had been her own personal finish line. The droplets of rain on the leaf had shuddered tentatively. She’d withdrawn her hand, taken a deep breath and had studied the worn front door. It had looked as if it might admit her easily, so she’d reached her hand out towards it. 

“Are you lost?” a sudden female voice had asked. 

MC’s heart had slammed against her chest and she’d whirled around. A girl, who had been perhaps a year or so older than her at the most, had been stood there. She had wavy blonde hair that had already been past her shoulders and which MC had admired because even though she was able to grow her hair long it remained stubbornly straight. There had been some kind of religious text in the girl’s hand and the fingers of a shorter and younger, vermilion-haired boy in the other, who had been pale and thin and had looked uncertainly at her. 

_“Oh,”_ the blonde-haired girl’s light-green eyes had softened upon seeing how she’d caused MC to startle. “It’s okay. What’s your name? Don’t cry. You can come with us. It’ll be nice for me to have a sister again and I'm sure that Saeran would like one too.”

The boy, who had presumably been called Saeran, hadn’t looked convinced by her words. “I already have a brother,” he’d told the girl, “I'm not sure if I _need_ a sister too.”

_“Oh,_ but our family will be more complete then. Don’t you think? I can be the mommy. We still need a daddy, but I will take good care of you myself until then and”- MC hadn’t been sure. Had it all just been _play?_ The girl had seemed so convinced by what she’d been saying. She’d almost felt _relieved_ when her mother had frantically run across to join them and had touched at her shoulder, before she’d pulled her close. The girl had looked put off by her presence. 

“Oh MC, don’t _ever_ go exploring by yourself like that again,” Chae-Yeong had told her daughter, before she’d looked a little oddly at the other children. “This is no place to play-right next to the road. You should be having fun closer to home,” she’d instructed them. 

_“We”-_ something had crackled across the girl’s eyes. 

“Saeran! We need to be going now.” Another vermilion-haired boy had come rushing towards them at that point. “Mommy will be cross if we don’t get home.” 

“I don’t _want_ to go home,” the first boy had complained. 

“But we can come out again real soon and we can have ice cream and”-he’d suddenly seemed to notice MC and her mother-“Sorry Ma’am,” he’d bowed his head clumsily at Chae-Yeong and she’d nodded at him in turn. “We were only out because of church. I hope my brother was not causing you any trouble.”

“Not at all,” Chae-Yeong had said just as the girl had piped up, “Saeran is _no_ trouble,” and had fondly touched at the boy’s hair. The other boy had seemed pleased by their interaction. “Will you be okay finding your way home?” Chae-Yeong had checked with them. 

“Oh yes,” the second boy had grabbed at the first’s hand and had begun to lead him away. They’d heard him sound like he had both been questioning the boy and scolding him out of anxiety. Saeran hadn’t seemed to care about any of it however as long as he’d be able to have ice cream the next time they came out. 

MC and her mother had turned to look back at where the girl had been, but she’d already fled. Chae-Yeong had frowned at that point, before she’d guided her daughter back to their apartment, made her tell her everything and made her _swear_ that she would not tell her father about how she’d been interacting with strange children. They’d pretend that she’d just been in the lobby. The truth hadn’t been worth his ire. 

The next significant event had happened when MC had been seventeen. Her mother had left her father for Chairman Han-chairman of the famous export company C & R International-that October. It had maybe taught MC that she’d been wary of the wrong parent all her life. For her mother had always seemed like the _more_ stable one out of her parents-the more reliable and dependable one, though she’d sensed a sadness there, which had radiated off of her sometimes. It had been her _father,_ she’d thought, who had been much more likely to be swayed by a sudden idea. The one idea of his that had affected them the most recently had been the one that her brother had, had of them going into business with one another. Bo-Seon had graduated that past February from SKY University. For years her father and brother had, had different projects on the go around the kitchen table and had taken things apart, before they’d fixed them again. Bo-Seon’s business proposition had seen her father leaving his secure and long-term held position at C & R International and risking it all, just to try and ensure that Bo-Seon would not have failed on his own and made all of his careful teachings for him a waste. Maybe Hak-Yeon had still harboured some of his dream for his _own_ father and son business too, like it had seemed that Chairman Han would have one day with his son Jumin, who is a year older than MC and looks set to join the family business once he’s done with his studies. The electrical and watch repair business set up by her brother and father however had failed within a terse six months, as they’d tried to make it expand all too soon [another one of her brother’s ideas, she’d sensed.] Hak-Yeon had been forced to return to C & R International and _beg_ Chairman Han for his old job back, which had been humiliating in the extreme. He’d pleaded with the other man to take Bo-Seon on in some context as well and give him a secure future. Chairman Han had not yielded at first, _and,_ worried about bills, MC’s mother Chae-Yeong had gone to talk to Chairman Han _herself,_ despite the fact that this had not been a typical thing to do-most women in an office block were assistants and even _they_ were lucky to have any say. Any partners who were not involved in any of the business at all were encouraged to stay out of such affairs and _only_ play the role of a good host when it was deemed necessary for them to do so. _Still,_ with a mounting financial situation on her hands Chae-Yeong had, had little choice in the matter. MC does not know if the affair with Chairman Han had started at that point, but thinks that it might have done or not long thereafter because Chairman Han had softened and though Hak-Yeon had _not_ been taken back on by the company-he now works in a VFC fried chicken shop instead-Bo-Seon being younger and seen as someone who had many years work left inside him _had_ been given a job and allowed the chance to make something of himself. 

After that her mother’s hair, which had been the same colour as MC’s, had no longer streamed out as she’d jabbed a finger at MC’s father, who had somehow managed to look less severe in those moments despite his general brooding personality and square haircut, as they’d gone through the bills around the kitchen table and MC hadn’t realized how damaging that one incident between her parents _had_ been. 

As the months had slowly unfurled however, culminating in her mother leaving them for Chairman Han, certain things _had_ become clearer to her such as how Hak-Yeon, who had always discussed even the most _crazy_ of business ideas with her mother, _had_ gone ahead on this one with Bo-Seon _despite_ Chae-Yeong’s doubts. See how her mother had seemed to think in turn that it would have been better if her father _had_ kept working for C & R International and let their son possibly make his _own_ mistakes rather than trying to have so much control over him all the time. How Chairman Han, who had been supportive to her mother’s plight and who could offer her much more stability might have gradually appealed more to her. How Chae-Yeong, who had worked in Yongwoo Pharmaceuticals, but whose _real_ passion had been art and the perfume industry, had also perhaps gotten fed up of pushing down her own desires and being sensible when her _own_ husband had been unable to do such a thing time after time. Maybe she had thought that through being with Chairman Han, who was already well off financially, she’d be freer to go after what _she_ wanted- _especially_ considering Chairman Han had overseen business’s for his personal partners in the past-before it had been too late for her. But _still,_ MC had felt something beneath that understanding that made her have a headache about it all and she’d found it difficult to see her mother as having done anything else other than let her down and had found her to be selfish in leaving them.  
The fact that her mother’s affair with Chairman Han had come out via the media, and _not_ after her mother’s own confession to them, had made her growing resentment towards her mother all the worse, as had the fact that instead of apologizing to them after that her mother had leapt into Chairman Han’s arms. The media had always been interested in Chairman Han and his family and since Chae-Yeong had been Chairman Han’s latest conquest [MC hadn’t paid much attention to the whole thing before, but what with everything having gotten that much more personal, she had realized just _how_ many relationships Chairman Han had, had over the years-even when he had been married-and had finally taken the time to read through all of Chairman Han’s biographies up until that point-thieving them from her father’s bookshelf, before he’d been able to burn them out of spite] they were at that point interested in Chae-Yeong and the family she had left behind. MC had, had reporters tailing her to school, as they’d tried to get information out of her-about her mother, about what _she_ herself had thought of it all. Her best friend Jaehee Kang, who has long brown hair and is a hard worker, had noticed how the situation had made MC become more withdrawn and had taken it upon herself to speak to MC’s mother out of anxiety. 

That had led to MC’s mother going to see MC at their old apartment, accompanied by a couple of security people that had been assigned to her for her own protection. Thankfully the security had stayed outside the main door of the apartment and MC’s mother had entered her daughter’s bedroom in order to speak to her, having being given ten minutes by Hak-Yeon, who had been buckling underneath the strain of it all. 

MC had been sat on the edge of her bed, the duvet of which, at the time and even in the present is a light green, whilst all the pillows are white and a dark green bed scarf is folded around the bed’s bottom. The walls are a light yellow and dust had hung in the air at that point because MC had not made the effort to clean her room. A fabric painting that her mother had done of a forest with strips of blue sky that had peeked through the trees and had been visible from the path that it had also depicted hangs over her bed. The window opposite the door had let the sunlight in through its blinds, which had thrown strips of light over MC’s desk that are filled with books and papers. Light had also washed over all the wooden furniture that is in the room. A laptop case had been near to the desk and away from the wooden chair. MC had been unable to focus on her studying, unnerved by her mother’s sudden presence in the room and a couple of books had been abandoned on her bed and shut, having barely been opened in the first place. 

“All right?” Chae-Yeong had checked, as she’d closed the door behind her. Her eyes, which had only been a touch lighter than MC’s own, but an _entire_ different colour in terms of if you’d painted them, had skimmed all over the place at that point. “This room is so airless,” she’d complained, as she’d waved a hand at the stale smell and her nose had wrinkled. When she’d lived with them Chae-Yeong had aired the place often, but MC had not felt much like opening the window over the past couple of weeks. To do something like that would have reminded her too much of what her mother would have done as well as the situation and she hadn’t been sure of how she’d felt about it all. “I will get you some plants,” her mother had vowed to her, “Spruce this place up a little.” She’d gone to open the window at that point. Her hair had swished against her shoulders as she’d walked. She’d sat on the bed and had looked at MC carefully. MC had ducked her head because right then uncomfortable weeds had grown up in her mind. Despite her tilted head by that point her mother had _already_ noticed her bloodshot eyes and the fact that she’d been struggling with what had been going on in her personal life and trying to keep track of her studying at the same time. Dark half-moons indents, like that of fingernails, had clawed their way beneath MC’s eyes. 

“New dress?” MC had nodded to what her mother had worn at that point. She’d tried not to sound bitter, but she hadn’t been able to help the thing. Her mother had new dresses-and perhaps she’d had them for a while, but had been unable to wear them around her father-yet all MC had was a new sort of isolation. Even when her mother had been at home she hadn’t felt completely comfortable. Her father and brother had _always_ been as thick as thieves, but at least she’d had a partner. Someone to share all the disappointment with…it hadn’t helped either that the dress Chae-Yeong had worn that day had been a good one. White with green shapes of long leaves across it, it had reminded her of the day in the orphanage and the ferns by the door and also when she’d met her best friend not long after that time. It had been a day where their father had, had to work, but Bo-Seon and she had been off school for some reason. Perhaps they’d had a couple of hours free at the weekend? MC cannot remember exactly any more, but in any case they’d all found themselves at the park, which had been a rare luxury and a treat for them. It had not been too long before the siblings had grown competitive and underneath a baking hot sky Bo-Seon had tried to climb the highest tree that had been in the park. Chae-Yeong had kept an eye on the situation, but a neighbour had distracted her and MC had seized her chance and had tried to climb the tree as well. It had not been long, before the inevitable had happened, as she had not been a good climber and she’d fallen off of the tree. Smack on her back it had been then that she’d properly gotten a chance to look at the girl whom MC had not seen before and who had apparently been watching them from the ground. Her light brown eyes that had verged on being amber in the light had distracted MC from all the pain that she’d felt and had stopped her from getting too caught up in the situation. Despite that however her brother had started to climb down from the tree at once and their mother had begun to rush over to her. 

Jaehee had come across to her as being smart from the off, for she’d told her at that point, “You might like to know that even _if_ you’d gotten further up the tree it would not have been able to support your brother and you and so the result would have been the same. I like judo. Maybe you would as well?” [MC had later attended a judo session with Jaehee and had been hopeless at the thing, but that is another story entirely.] Right in that moment though MC had sensed her maturity, but also her kindness, as the girl had helped her to her feet. Both her brother [who’d thought MC a terrible cry baby by that point] and her mother had been impressed that she’d been too busy talking to her new friend to make a scene about the thing and MC has been friends with Jaehee ever since…

MC had come out of the memory to discover that Chae-Yeong had plucked at the skintight material of the dress, which she’d paired with dark green heels. “It was a gift from the chairman,” she’d told her, slightly breathily, though she’d seemed more concerned about her daughter than her relationship with Chairman Han in that moment. “Jaehee came to see me. She said you’ve been very quiet of late and that you seemed to be struggling?” 

“There was no need for her to do _that.”_ MC had been grateful to her friend that she _had_ done such a thing for her however. That _someone_ seemed to care enough about her to try and help. Unlike her father and brother who moaned, drank and were still fixated on mending things around the kitchen table-perhaps because they _hadn’t_ been able to repair anything else. 

“I know your father and Bo-Seon have their own thing going on,” her mother had been perceptive, “And I _know_ that you must feel lonely because of it at times.” Chae-Yeong had looked guilty at that point and if MC hadn’t been so concerned with keeping herself together, part of which she’d done through the tightening of her jaw, then she might have asked her to clarify _why_ she’d abandoned them. “But you can come and see me whenever you like. Just because I'm not living here any more doesn’t mean that I’ve left you or that I _wanted_ to leave you.” That hadn’t made much sense in MC’s mind. If she’d been so important to her mother then _surely_ her mother would have stayed with her? “I always want to be there for you MC,” Chae-Yeong had told her then, as she’d broken into her daughter’s thoughts. MC had blinked back sudden tears and wished that she’d had something to distract her from the situation, but nothing had seemed to be in her reach-even when her mother had offered her a gentle squeeze of her hand it had felt _far_ from comforting. “Chairman Han _knows_ such a thing. He’s shown the guards a photo of you and has told them to allow you in if you ever call. He _knows_ how important you are to me”-

“Doesn't he want you for himself?” It had been easier for her to look at Chairman Han as being the man who had stolen her mother from her and _that’s_ what her father and brother had seemed to believe.

“Oh _MC.”_ Chae-Yeong had taken her in her arms. “Chairman Han is a good man. I _know_ that it is probably hard for you to think that, what with your father and brother polluting your mind against him”-she’d been perceptive-“But he is. He has a son of his own and wants him to be happy just like I do for you.” She’d stroked at her hair for a few moments at that point, before MC had pulled away from her. _“I”-_ she’d hesitated-“I'm not sure, but I think it might be a good idea if Jumin and you have a talk at some point.” MC had been all the _more_ confused at that point. She hadn’t been able to see how _any_ good would be able to come from it. “You’re very similar ages and maybe you can help one another through all the scrutiny? Or he might be able to advise you?” she’d said. “He’s had to cope with things like this from a young age after all”-MC had known that the media had always written about what friends Jumin had, had, but had never paid much attention to the thing until that point-“I'm very sorry that its come to this and that it came out the way that it did. I”-

“Can’t you come back? Make Father forgive you?” it had spilled out of her at that point. MC had _known_ that it wasn’t as easy as that of course, but _still,_ instead of her mother coming around to visit couldn't she return to them properly? 

“I don’t _deserve_ his forgiveness MC, and truthfully, I am not sure that I would _want_ such a thing.” 

MC had thought desperately of _why_ that might be the case for her. She’d only ended up with one solution. “Because of Chairman Han? How you _feel_ for him?” She’d tried to hold her tears still in her eyes, as she’d fixated on her mother and had wished that she’d understood the level of great emotion that her mother must feel to abandon them for Chairman Han.

“I _love_ him MC. I feel something for him that I have not felt for your father for a very long time by this point,” Chae-Yeong had told her then, and she’d made MC feel breathless with her certainty. It had appeared that her earlier thoughts and belief of _why_ her mother had left them had been correct and it had made her feel sick and desperate at the same time. It had looked like her mother would not be returning to them… 

* 

A lot of people would have probably tried to go around to where Chairman Han had lived straight away, just to be nosy if nothing else and taken copious selfies and shots of everything, but it had taken MC a few days of thought and of discussing the thing with Jaehee, before she’d decided to go through with the thing. It had taken her _that_ long because she hadn’t been sure about going around to what essentially was someone else’s home to see her mother, and _also_ because doing the act meant being more accepting of the situation-accepting that her mother had moved away from them all and that she probably wasn’t coming back to them. She hadn’t wanted to feel as if she’d been _intruding_ by visiting her mother either. She wasn’t sure _where_ she fit into her mother’s new life or if she _did_ fit in to it in the first place. This new life of hers included having security, new dresses and everything she did or said [or _once_ had said and done] scrutinized by the press. It was all very weird and relentless. _Yet,_ as Jaehee had pointed out to MC, what was the point of her _never_ seeing her mother again when she so clearly wanted to? MC had always been able to rely on Jaehee for a bit of common sense and she’d had to admit that the apartment she lived in had felt deprived of oxygen without her mother being there. There was no point in denying herself that small bit of happiness, especially since both of Jaehee’s parents had passed away-her father from an illness when she’d been very young and then, only a few years after that and when she’d been seven her mother from a car accident that had seen her coming to live with her aunt and uncle locally. Such a realization had made MC feel a little braver and like she’d _still_ had it pretty good on the whole. At least she’d still had a chance to see and develop her relationship with her mother. 

*

She’d arranged a visit, set for one Sunday afternoon when she’d be done with church and before the Han’s and her mother would go to the place themselves. At least she’d have a good reason to not be there too long that way had things become awkward for her and her mother had seemed to think that it was a sensible option to take things slowly too, though she’d told her that Chairman Han was looking forward to meeting her. MC had told her father and brother of her intentions and they had told her not to expect that much from the thing, but had allowed her begrudgingly to go over to the intimidating skyscraper in the heart of town with the remark that if it was what she wanted then it would be permitted for the time being as if they were doing a huge favour for her. Her brother it seemed had no desire to accompany her there. She’d been aware that the duration of the visit itself would be more pleasant without him, but had half-hoped that he might still come, just so that she wouldn’t be on her own for the getting there and the no doubt awkward first part of the thing. Bo-Seon had never mentioned it to her however and she’d been forced to leave in isolation again. 

She’d talked meekly to the security guards who had been on duty in the lobby of the C & R building that day, and after a radio confirmation that she was allowed to do so, they’d given her permission to ride the private elevator up to the penthouse. The elevator had smelt faintly of lavender and had been encased in red velvet that had muffled the sound and the sight of it alone had made MC’s eyes bug out of her head. She’d never ridden in such a fancy elevator before. She’d felt relief when her mother had waited for her on the other side of it-finally she hadn’t felt so alone-and when she’d opened her arms MC had rushed to her. When she’d smelt her mother’s apple shampoo and her familiar scent had infused her nostrils again it had felt like a great weight had been lifted from her and that things might not be so bad as long as she was able to do that. 

When she’d stepped back from her, however, it had been to see that Chairman Han had joined them [or perhaps he had always been there, MC hadn’t known, as all she’d been able to focus on at first had been her mother.] He’d looked kinder than the press articles had made him appear to be. He is tall and that is a little daunting, but his short grey hair and his oval and slightly weathered face makes him seem wise and almost grandfatherly. Although his eyes are black his pupils had beamed out of them like kind and welcoming spotlights. He’d worn a grey jumper over a white shirt and dark grey tie. “You must be MC,” he’d told her, “It is such a pleasure to meet you.” He’d bowed his head respectfully at her, but had looked as if he’d had to hold himself back from kissing her hand or embracing her. She’d sensed that he was a very affectionate man, but that perhaps he had not known how MC’s mother, or MC _herself,_ would have reacted had he done those things and had wanted to be respectful all the same. 

“And you sir.” MC had nodded at him reverentially in turn. 

“Come, come.” He’d still looked eager by her presence. “You must sit with us and have some tea. I want to know _all_ about you, though I have heard so much from your darling mother already.” He’d cast Chae-Yeong such a fond look at that point that it had made MC’s heart stop, as she’d been able to see clearly the love that had been between them. She’d felt both embarrassed and overwhelmed by the thing-it had been different seeing it herself rather than just _hearing_ about it from her mother-as they’d touched hands and had shared a private glance and her mind had started to believe in their love after all. Her mind had wondered if _she’d_ have that type of relationship one day? “My son will also join us.” Chairman Han had looked about. “I think he’s around here somewhere and I know that your mother is most keen to make the introductions.” MC had felt embarrassed-maybe because she’d had no idea _why_ Chairman Han was so pleased to meet her or _why_ he’d felt that she would be such an important person for his son to meet, but she’d felt thankful of his efforts and enthusiasm all the same. Chairman Han had been oblivious to all of that though. “Jumin? Jumin, are you there son?” he’d called out towards MC’s right where there had been three doors that led to rooms. Directly ahead of where MC had faced had lain a combination of a dining room and living room, its walls different shades of grey, a white and silver circular table and soft grey chairs, which had backs that swooped to them left to the centre of the floor to ceiling window that had overlooked the city. MC had felt keen to look out of it and see the city from a different vantage point, but it had almost been like the outside world hadn’t existed-all the sound had been muffled. Sideboards and small bookcases, in a dark wood, had been along the walls on the right and in between the doors that had been there. A grand piano in black had lain slightly off centre in the room. It had looked stylish, but still lived-in. Judging from the clanging noise that they’d heard intermittently the kitchen had been around the corner on the left to where they’d been stood and though she had not known it at that point it had been beyond a short corridor and some double doors. Its staff had cleaned away after lunch.

The door on the far right had opened suddenly. MC had been surprised when a very fluffy white Persian cat with blue eyes had led the way out of it, followed by a lanky teen who is overtaking the height of his father and whose hair is like the most commonly drawn night sky. His grey eyes had swirled like clouds over the moons of his pupils. Even though he’d looked a little aloof from the scene she’d sensed that he had been taking it in closely all the same. He’d worn a dark grey sweater vest over a pinstripe white and grey shirt and light-blue tie, which had been slightly loose, as if he’d been absentmindedly tugging upon it, whilst doing whatever he’d needed to that day. _“Father?”_ his eyes had been on MC though despite the question, and he’d stepped across to them smartly in formal shoes despite the fact that he had been home. MC had not been able to imagine him wearing _truly_ casual clothes like she’d preferred to if she was able when _she_ was at home. He’d stopped by her mother courteously and had looked around Chae-Yeong at Chairman Han. 

“This is MC, son. Wonderful, isn’t she?” Jumin had rolled his eyes covertly at his father’s comment, but MC had caught the gesture all the same. Jumin had seen such a thing, but hadn’t looked apologetic in any sense. He’d just stared at her and she’d done the same to him until he’d finally looked away. “She’s the daughter of”-

“Forgive me Father, but I _know_ who she is,” Jumin had interrupted, in no mood it seemed to be playing games, before he’d apparently realized how harsh he’d sounded and had gone on more smoothly, “I do not mean to be rude, but I have a lot of work that I want to get done, before church this afternoon, _so”-_

_“Still,”_ not much had been able to dampen Chairman Han’s spirits, “Nothing wrong with taking a break every once in a while. Why don’t you join us for tea?”

“I have only recently _had_ tea Father. I had it brought to my room. Elizabeth the 3rd” –she’d taken it that, that had been the name of the cat and had found it quite high and mighty, but oddly suitable-“And I shared biscuits together. It was a very nice break and I can’t imagine sharing it with anyone nicer, but I _really_ must be getting on with my work now.”

_“Ju-min,”_ Chairman Han had started to look both embarrassed and disappointed by his son, “You knew when our guest was due and _don’t_ be talking on and on about your cat in front of her. Not _everyone_ has an affinity for animals like you do. At least play a piano recital for us if you _have_ to do something. He used to be in the church choir, you know?” he’d said this as a quiet aside to MC, who hadn’t quite known how she was meant to react to the thing so she’d just nodded. “But he prefers quieter pursuits now.” 

“My voice deepened.” MC had blushed at Jumin’s darker and heated tone and the implication of what he had said. “That’s the _only_ reason I had to give choir up. I enjoyed it before that,” he’d gone on more conversationally, “But they prefer younger children who have higher voices and _…V.”_ He’d seemed thoughtful at that point. MC hadn’t known what he’d meant by his last remark however. Was ‘V’ a what or a who? 

His father hadn’t seemed to think that he’d heard the full thing clearly either and had huffed and puffed for a moment. “So I encouraged him to learn the piano. That way he could still have a role you see-it’s easy enough to transition to the organ that way- _but”-_

“I am not _good_ enough to play in public Father,” Jumin had told them honestly, though his eyes had narrowed then, as they’d swivelled to look at MC again, almost as if he’d been _daring_ her to challenge him. 

“Since you learnt anyway you can play for us now,” Chairman Han had remarked to his son gruffly. 

“Very well. If that is what you wish. I see there will be no getting out of it,” Jumin had relented and had gone straight across to the piano, as if he’d wanted to get the thing over and done with as quickly as possible. Elizabeth the 3rd had followed after him. Her tail had been high in the air. She had sat down next to the glossy black piano stool as Jumin had perched daintily upon it. He’d begun to play from the sheet music that had already been on display there _-Strauss II, Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op .214._ He’d seemed to enjoy the frenetic pace of it and Chairman Han had frowned at him, as he’d no doubt wished that he’d chosen something much softer. 

MC had followed Chairman Han and her mother to a little green sofa that had been in a little nook just before the kitchen’s corridor. A coffee table that had been clear aside from the square brown coasters upon it had been in front of the sofa. 

“There are larger rooms for entertaining of course,” Chairman Han had informed her then, as the tea had been efficiently brought out to them on a silver platter by a man who had light brown hair and was dressed smartly, “But a different elevator is used to get to those-look at me telling you all our secrets when you have only just got here! You are as bad as your mother! You draw that out of me.” MC had smiled awkwardly and finished fixing her tea, glad for the distraction of it. Jumin had played an erroneous note deliberately when he’d heard such words. “On a Sunday it is quite nice to downsize, but I shouldn't let the media hear me saying that considering I'm a businessman after all. All our shares will go down.” MC had laughed politely at that. 

_“MC,”_ her mother had said, before she’d asked her, “Why don’t you go and see if Jumin needs any assistance with his music?” 

At that point Jumin had played a very loud and once more on purpose, MC had sensed, incorrect note. Elizabeth the 3rd had hurtled beneath the piano at the sound. 

“I think he’s all right,” MC had said despite the mistake. She’d grabbed at her teacup and had forced herself to take a sip of it, even though it had been far too hot for her at that point. 

“MC wants to tell me all about herself, don’t you my dear?” Chairman Han had boomed generously and MC had entertained his questions for a while. She’d confessed that she does not play the piano very well, prefers languages and arts at school and struggles with Math. [‘Ah, a necessary part of our existence I'm afraid, so I hope you will keep at it,’ Chairman Han had indulged her and she’d promised him that she’d try her best to.] Before _finally,_ and most thankfully, one of the security guards had left the elevator, joined them all and had passed along the message that Chairman Han had been needed in the office suddenly. “No rest,” Chairman Han had complained. He’d seemed genuinely sad that he’d had to leave. “You two girls catch up now, take your time. I’ll see you in church later son. Head there with Chae-Yeong if I'm not back. Make sure she gets there safely and be polite to our guest, won’t you?”

_“Mm,”_ Jumin had spoken non-commitedly at that point and MC had wondered if Jumin was used to his father departing because he’d sounded so absent-minded about it all. 

She’d been brought out of thought by Chairman Han’s little tut at his son’s words and by the way that he’d then gone on to pat her and her mother on the shoulders. “I’ll see you later darling.” He’d kissed MC’s mother and MC had averted her gaze. Jumin’s hands had gone crazy across the piano, as he’d started the piece up again. His fingers had almost become a blur from what she’d been able to see of them as she’d looked across at him. Chairman Han had made a soft sound of discontent and had glanced at him for a moment, before his eyes had returned softly to MC. “It was a pleasure meeting you my dear.” He’d fetched his long, dark coat, which had been draped over the back of the green sofa and had gone to the middle of the room, as he’d shrugged it on. MC’s mother had gotten up to help him. He’d pecked her on the lips again in between her placing a long blue scarf over his coat and she’d tugged at both ends of it until they’d become equal. MC had, had to look away at that point, as she’d done the exact same thing when MC had been small and she’d found to her surprise that the memory had been painful to her. Chairman Han had sent a cheery wave across to MC [‘Bye now’] and had disappeared into the elevator with the security man. 

“That reminds me,” MC’s mother had come back to her and taken another sip of her tea, whilst she’d remained standing, before she’d lowered her cup to the coaster and had adjusted it slightly. “I must inform the chef of one or two alterations that need to be made for dinner. I’ll be back in a moment. Go and say hello sweetheart.” She’d nodded insistently at Jumin. 

MC had rolled her eyes at that point. She’d doubted that there were _any_ alterations that needed to be made, or at least the fact that they’d needed to be mentioned right then. _Still,_ she’d nodded resignedly and her mother had touched at her shoulder, before Chae-Yeong had disappeared as well. 

Jumin had transitioned to a quieter and more relaxing piece _-Chopin, Nocturne No.2, Op. 9,_ which he’d played by memory-due to the fact that both his father and his father’s girlfriend had been absent. MC had waited for a moment and then she’d abandoned her tea, before she’d gotten up. Her heart had thumped a little unevenly and a pair of vivid blue eyes had watched her from beneath the piano as she’d drifted slowly across to join Jumin’s side. 

“Would you like any help?” she’d been nervous, able to smell the soft, sandalwood scent of him and see the fine smattering of black hairs that had been close to the watch upon his wrist. She’d felt as if she were in a private concert and should be in a dress or something, not in a cute denim jacket and a thin navy and white stripy top that had pictures of cherries all over it, which had been out of place, she’d thought, with the elegance of the music. At least her trousers had been less quirky and had just a smart black to them. 

Jumin hadn’t said anything, so she’d taken that as a no. She’d been about to say something when- 

“I do not need your help and nor does my father need that of your mother’s.”

_“…Right.”_ MC had felt incredibly awkward all of a sudden.

“You may be happier that I am talking to you now, but you should not be fooled. If all that’s going to happen is arguing once this happier phase of their relationship is at an end then your mother and you can save us the hassle and go back to whatever attention-seeking rock you crawled out under from. _That’s_ what I would prefer,” he’d tried the sort of language that was both authoritative and assertive from business interactions he’d seen his father doing, books and TV drama shows in the hope that it would work out well and that he would soon be done with the interaction.

“I see…” MC had been at a loss for many words right then. 

“I only managed to get a smidgen of peace, before your mother came onto the scene. Even arguing became predictable and almost better than this certainty of _knowing_ that my father will now surely argue with your mother at some point, but not knowing _when_ the change in their relationship will occur. I could do without all that. I have”-

“A lot of work to do,” she’d finally managed to get a word in edgeways at that point and Jumin had cringed a little at her disappointed tone, even though it had been refreshing, for he wasn’t used to hearing such a thing. He’d decided to change tack. 

_“Yes,”_ he’d settled on, as he’d hoped that would go down better. 

“It must have been difficult to put up with all the arguing”-

“It wasn’t as if she was my”- Jumin had mumbled then, as he hadn’t known how much MC had been aware of his father’s previous relationships. Most people were unfortunately, especially those with designs on his father or him. They looked to see how they might find an opening themselves. Something inside Jumin had tightened at that point. 

“No, but I'm sorry,” MC had relented slightly, “Yet what makes you think that this relationship’s going to fail too?” 

Jumin’s anger had fizzled out slightly at the surprising question and he’d glanced at her both briefly and curiously. “Because that’s how _all_ relationships go. At least that _seems_ to be Father’s luck with them,” he had been wary of volunteering such information and putting himself at a disadvantage, but he’d wanted to continue the conversation with her nonetheless and draw more of her _own_ thoughts on it out. 

“You want to save your father the heartache then?” she’d thought that she understood if that were the case. She’d wanted to save her mother and her family from the same thing.

Jumin had finally put an end to his studious piano playing-though his fingers had lingered over the keys-and had turned his head to look at her impatiently over his shoulder. “Partly, but I want to save the business that I am heir to from any drama as well and _myself_ from any headaches. I can’t imagine that _you_ understand from a business angle, not being involved in one yourself, but surely you can _see_ the logic from a personal one? Your mother and father must have been arguing, even if the lure for money _was_ strong for her”- 

“My mother’s not a gold digger and I might understand _more_ than you think I do about business,” she’d told him curtly, “Father jeopardized our entire financial situation by going into business with my brother. It was what led my mother to meeting your father in the first place, but it was stability that drove her, not more money. I can guarantee that.” 

Jumin had looked at her sceptically. “Whatever she is, and whatever _you_ are,” he’d sighed, “I do not like being _forced_ into situations. Nor do I like the business being put into more of a precarious position because of the thing and I'm _certain,_ since, whatever you say, you cannot be of any help to the business, that Father only wants me to be polite to you due to the fact that he’s considering marrying your mother”-MC’s eyes had widened at the alarming prospect-“Which is troubling indeed because marriages are harder to get out of and there is only _one_ way this one can end. _Badly._ I wish he wasn’t even _thinking_ of re-marrying so soon. If at all ever.”

“I don’t particularly want to be your step-sibling either.” MC had folded her arms. Jumin had begun to play the piano once more. It hadn’t been a proper tune this time, but an absent-minded one. “My mother isn’t a bad person,” she’d tried to persuade him, “And neither am _I._ How sure are you about your father marrying her anyway?” She’d tried to calm her racing heart down. 

“As sure as I can be,” Jumin had responded, before he’d volunteered, “I don’t know _why_ he bothers though when they all seem to end up the same way-with the business in a poorer position and his heart aching. His mind _lonely_ again…” The note he played on the piano had trembled in the air. MC had swallowed. 

“Not _everyone_ leaves,” she’d murmured at that point, and perhaps she’d been reminding herself as much as him. It was all too easy for someone to become bitter. 

“Your mother left _you.”_ Again he’d looked at her and his fingers had hovered above the piano keys. 

She hadn’t known what to say to such a thing. “Are we enemies then?” had been what she’d come out with. “Because what with all the work you have to do then I wouldn’t think that you’d have _time_ for such a thing, and if I come around here then it will only be to see my mother. Your father has been pleasant enough to me, but all the same you should know that I have no _real_ interest in either him _or_ you. As long as he makes my mother happy…it’s not ideal, but _I”-_ Jumin had sighed at that point and his hands had flopped down hopelessly to his lap as he’d listened to her-“This hasn’t been easy for me. Like you say Mother _left”-_ she’d felt a lump in her throat then and had been determined not to cry at that point-“She left me and not only have I had to put up with that, but all the media attention that’s come my way and you _really_ don’t know what it took for me to come here today, so if you’re going to be like that with me just because of what happened in the past when I don’t have any control of _who_ your father’s dated before and what _that_ resulted in, then you should know that I'm here just to see my mother and _not_ you. I don’t _care_ about how you treat me really, but ideally you’d be respectful, whilst I'm here. That’s all that I’d like to ask you for and all I _can_ ask you for.” 

“Of course.” Jumin had bowed his head at that point. “Did your father disrespect her then?” he’d latched onto another thread and something that he’d felt to be the underlying point in MC’s words.

_“Huh?”_

“Was he disrespectful when they argued before she’d left?” He’d looked at her. The grey waters of his eyes had surged and then become still again. 

“Yes, because of that business idea I told you about. He usually discussed _everything_ with her.” 

Jumin had looked thoughtful. “Is _that_ how it’s meant to be in relationships?” he’d asked her. “A man telling his partner _everything,_ even about business, which she has no idea of? Surely _that_ wouldn’t be very good for confidentiality?”

“Look, I don’t _know_ how it’s meant to be,” she’d felt flustered and had run a hand through her hair. It had tangled up. “I don’t have any experience in such things.” Jumin had felt glad that he hadn’t been the _only_ one and his composure had softened slightly. 

As if she’d sensed the lighter atmosphere that had slowly been brewing between her owner and this _strange,_ new person, Elizabeth the 3rd had come out of her hiding place and had stretched her body across towards MC. Jumin’s face had grown kinder still. As MC had bent down he’d touched at the cat’s back himself. Their fingers had gotten perilously close to touching at one another’s and they’d both attempted to stick to the closest portion of Elizabeth the 3rd that had been within their reach. “Cats are sensitive creatures. She does not like us arguing, but _surely_ you can see, even _with_ your lack of experience”-it had felt then as if he had been goading her and MC hadn’t _liked_ such a thing, even though she’d sensed that the truth was he was being closer to behaving clumsily more than anything else-“That relationships lead to arguments and unnecessary complications? _Surely_ if you have been used to the headaches and the arguing all the time then you can see that there is no common sense in your mother being with my father at this point in time?”

“But he makes her happy and vice-versa I think from what I have seen today.” She’d slowly understood what Jumin hadn’t been able to grasp. “And so, no matter what I feel and what happens in the future that seems like it’s the right thing now, for the both of them to be in this relationship. Of course I am as unhappy as you are about the thing, but at the end of the day I would rather my mother have left for someone that she might be able to have a longer kind of relationship with and who she feels such things for.” 

“Are you trying to say that even if their relationship leads to break-up and divorce that _these”-_ his nose had wrinkled-“Happier times somehow make up for it or make it worthwhile?” 

_“Yes,_ that’s what I'm getting at.” 

“Even with the pain and the annoyance that it might put you through?” 

MC had steadied herself at that point. “Yes. I'm sure that you’re hurting too because of all the changes and I can see, to a point, why you wouldn’t want to risk any more right now, but they seem to be coming whether we like it or not _and”-_ she’d thought of something suddenly-“ Isn't _that_ what you have to do in business? _Adapt?”_ she’d asked. 

Jumin had silently stroked Elizabeth the 3rd as he’d thought about it all. “I suppose that is a fair point that you make, but you do not need to be concerned about me _‘hurting’_ because of all this upheaval. I know I can get through it and as long as I have Elizabeth the 3rd I will be all right no matter _what_ happens”-

“I'm sure that you will be,” she’d smiled a little in a watery fashion as she’d touched at the cat. 

“I would like to enter her in the British Cat Show one day,” he’d gotten distracted for a moment. “I just don’t know _why_ Father puts himself through it though”- he hadn’t seemed able to get very far away from that point. 

“Maybe because he does not have a companion like Elizabeth the 3rd? It is a beautiful name for her by the way.” 

Jumin’s eyes had widened a fraction, before he’d looked quickly back down to the cat. Slowly he’d nodded. “My friend named her and she was given to me by another friend of mine. I suppose that things _would_ be lonelier without such a creature.” 

“I can attest to that,” she’d murmured then and once more he’d looked at her. She’d smiled at him tremulously. “My apartment doesn’t _allow_ animals.” 

“That is a shame indeed. Everyone should have a chance to witness the beauty of cats.” They’d gone on stroking Elizabeth the 3rd in silence for a long time. As the cat had twisted around and made the most of the fuss that she was being given Jumin had petted behind the cat’s ears and she’d nudged against his hand encouragingly. “I _suppose…”_ he’d begun once more and MC’s ears had strained to hear “…That you must be lonely? What with your mother too having gone?” Her eyes dry, but voice too wobbly to speak, MC had nodded at him. Jumin had looked down again. He’d seemed to be contemplating something. She’d given him a lot to think about. “Then maybe, when you come around here, Elizabeth the 3rd, if she is willing of course”-and MC had nodded to show that she’d understood that it was up to the cat or not-“Could bless you with her presence for a couple of minutes each time? You would _still_ be coming primarily around to see your mother of course”-again MC had bowed her head hurriedly-“And if things change between my father and your mother then you will not be permitted on the property.” 

“Are you saying that it’s all right with you if I come around to see my mother now?” she’d been a little incredulous. 

“I suppose so, yes, and I will think about what you have said. She _does_ seem to love you after all and after advising a good friend of mine to stay in touch with his mother it would be a bit hypocritical of me to tell you otherwise,” he’d reasoned. 

“You can _tell_ that she loves me?” she’d been intrigued by him at that point. 

“Her face seemed lighter today from your visit.” 

“She seems happier with your father as well and I believe it when she says that she loves him.” 

Jumin had shrugged a little as if that had been of no consequence. “That will either be proven or disproved in the future. I suppose it is as you say and that we have to go along with the changes that they are creating for us right now? There is _one_ thing that I can take comfort from however.”

“What’s that?” she’d asked him quietly. 

He’d looked at her evenly. “That however long this change is destined to last Elizabeth the 3rd seems to like both you and your mother. They often say that animal lovers can be trusted and are good people. Perhaps we will also be able to see how much truth is in that statement?” 

She’d looked at him steadily. She’d sensed that he was quite harmless despite everything else that he pretended to masquerade as and that once you got underneath all that armour and became more of an accepted person in his life things would be all right. She’d also sensed that he was challenging her in that moment, telling her not to mess up because she’d done quite well that far, and she’d been determined to keep it up. 

*

There had been no specific arrangement for when or _how_ often MC would get to see her mother, but she’d pop over as often as she’d been able to and whenever her mother had not accompanied Chairman Han on a business trip. She’d allowed Jumin his space in that time and had heeded the notion that she was to provide a minimal kind of interference in his life. This had garnered some of his trust and although she hadn’t spoken to him at school, and had again kept a respectful distance, they would nod at one another in courteous acknowledgement and she’d found that he was more often than not around and available to share in some polite conversation with her whenever she called on Chae-Yeong. In fact she’d seen both him and Elizabeth the 3rd a lot more than she’d expected to. Jumin had also given her more access to Elizabeth the 3rd and they’d mostly talked about Elizabeth the 3rd or school as they’d stroked the cat. She had learnt that Elizabeth the 3rd was not one for toys [being too elegant for that sort of thing apparently-though she’d sensed that perhaps Jumin had invented this restriction and that _maybe_ Elizabeth the 3rd was far more adventurous than her owner would like to believe she was] and she’d made a note of such a thing in her head so that she would never make the mistake of bringing a toy around. Jumin’s curiosity had also come out on occasion during those times and he’d asked her things about popular culture, prompted by overheard discussions between other people at school, or about the arts. [There were already TV shows, which were meant to be fiction, but were essentially a take on Jumin’s high-school life and there had already been ones about his earlier schooldays before that. She fully expected that he was aware of them already and that there would no doubt be more as he progressed into adulthood and so she hadn’t discussed such a thing with him and had felt a little sorry for what he had to put up with.] He’d told her a little about V, or Jihyun Kim as he was actually called, who was Jumin’s closest male friend at school. They also had gone to church together, which explained the comment that Jumin had made previously about V’s higher-pitched voice being appreciated more in the choir. V also had an artistic mother, which is what Jumin seemed to think she’d be interested in and though V hadn’t seen much of her, before she’d perished in a house fire, Jumin had been glad that V had made more of an effort and had accepted that side of him to a better degree. _‘Though I still think that he is doing what his father wants him to and not what he is destined to himself,’_ he’d commented to her one day. When MC had explained that the same could perhaps be said of Jumin and his _own_ father, Jumin had explained to her that, that was quite a different thing. For a start he genuinely wanted to pursue a career in business and had the sort of mindset he thought would be well to do it in [V, he worried, was too emotional, which was good for some things, but not for business] for another, although he intended to carry out the wishes of his father Jumin told her that he wanted to be treated like any other person and be fired if he was not up to standard. He, _also,_ unlike his father, was more willing to participate in artistic avenues [he believed that it was good for everyone to have an outlet and to find a hobby because for one thing it used other parts of the brain that were not usually engaged-playing the piano was a hobby for him as well as cross-stitching] and in particular he wanted to create a series of different cat businesses out of the creativity that he possessed to ensure that _more_ people had the chance to see and be around such beautiful creatures. MC sometimes helped him come up with ideas for such a thing and they’d soon found out that generally her ideas were quirkier than his, whilst she’d felt honoured by the fact that he was allowing her to contribute and that his trust in her seemed to have grown. To return the favour he’d occasionally helped her with any homework that had troubled her, though when Chairman Han had walked in when Jumin had been doing so with her Math homework one time he’d quickly pretended to feign disinterest again and had turned away from her. More used to him by that point MC had not been offended by the thing and Chairman Han had not been fooled by it either-he’d commented on how nice it was to see young people getting on and helping one another. Jumin had scowled at such a thing and MC had wisely decided that it was time for her to go, which had served to put Jumin in check and he’d offered a tender kind of apology to her and had said that he hadn’t meant for it to look as if he hadn’t appreciated the time that they spent together he just hated his father’s knowing attitude sometimes and his father assuming he knew what was inside his head. Another side of him had also been on display when his father had dressed up as Santa around Christmas time and had made a public appearance for charity on TV in the outfit. He’d been embarrassed, but had managed to take _some_ comfort, however, by the fact that MC had shared in the cringeyness of it all as her mother had dressed up as Mrs. Claus and the fact that they’d been able to talk to one another about the incident had mollified them both slightly. Jumin had found that though he had not _usually_ talked much to his father’s girlfriend’s children [as they’d all seemed to want something from him] he was gradually becoming more and more relaxed around MC and beginning to lower his inhibitions a little around her and even think of them as being more like friends than acquaintances. He would talk to her more openly, share a few jokes and be less hesitant to laugh himself or to stop too early. He’d put it down to the fact that they’d known one another better by that point, and the fact of course, that MC had not asked for any money from them and Chae-Yeong had only taken what Chairman Han had given her and not pushed for a role in the company or any more money for herself. She hadn’t even _asked_ for the company she’d worked for to be given privileged treatment [something that Jumin would have despised her for if she had done] and had kept her job there, something _else_ which had been uncommon for a girlfriend of his father to do, most of whom had either been out of work or had swiftly become so. He had also ended up feeling that way down to guilt too. Post the Christmas incident MC and her mother had been branded as, _‘money digging whores,’_ and the thing had bothered Jumin more than it would have usually done as he was beginning to think that perhaps MC _had_ been telling the truth when they’d first met about how her mother had not been after his father’s money and that maybe things _wouldn’t_ fall apart so easily for once. Maybe his father _could_ get married to a woman and be happy? It certainly hadn’t seemed outside the realm of possibilities and MC’s faith too had made him believe that it might be possible. Consequently any harsh behaviour that had come from people who lacked an understanding about the reality of their relationships had made him seethe a little, though unfortunately there hadn’t been much that was able to be done. As he’d told MC, if he’d told or insisted that his father had not done business with the worst offenders, that would be bad for business and business _had_ to come before everything. Jumin told her that even though he had started to question it a little more though. By February he’d felt safer around MC and her mother than he had around most females, even _with_ the way they’d had him questioning in things that he’d always believed in. 

On the Monday, before the Tuesday that would be the day of the _third_ significant incident in MC’s life [the fourth if you counted her meeting Jumin] the morning headline that had been all over the place had been that Chairman Han had asked MC’s mother to marry him. It had been all over the school’s hallways too.

“What do you think? Is it true?” Jaehee had asked her in the hallway of their lockers. She hadn’t seemed to _know_ how to address the fact. She had known that MC would have ultimately _preferred_ her mother to be back home with her and even though MC had seemed a little more content about the situation of late she’d worried that whatever happened regarding the announcement it would cause her friend to be upset and withdrawn again. She hadn’t wanted to say anything that might rock the boat further. 

“I-I don’t know,” MC had been distracted and she’d gone off to one of the bathroom stalls and had made a quick call more privately, before homeroom had begun. As much as she appreciated Jaehee’s input and any thoughts that she had been able to give her, she’d _known_ then deep down that there was only _one_ other person in the world who might _truly_ be able to understand the situation and help order her thoughts. She’d been given Jumin’s number by him when they’d been more comfortable around one another and after some of the abuse had started up in school and she’d dialled it at that point. Previously they’d exchanged late-night texts about their days or Elizabeth the 3rd [which had often consisted of Jumin worrying about the cat’s weight or him sending photos of her to MC and asking if her coat looked glossy enough-something that had been hard to tell considering that a lot of the photos he’d sent to her were blurry] but MC had never rung him like that before and had hoped that it was the appropriate thing to do and that it wouldn’t have a negative effect on their relationship. She hadn’t been able to cope with the idea of that back then and in that moment had realized how much she’d started to rely on him. 

“MC, good,” Jumin’s smooth [and _relieved?_ ] tone had reached her from the other end of the phone, “I was just about to ring you,” he’d told her. He’d seemed to be in one of the school’s hallways-bits of other people’s chatter had come in between his words, which had crackled along the air to her. 

_“Were_ you?” she’d been hopeful that she might have done the right thing after all. 

“Mm. I wanted to make sure that you were all right. I am not sure if I will be able to comfort you should that be what you need as I am quite unemotional like you know, but I am used to such things being said in any case, so that might be of some help to you and I _know_ that all this attention is quite new to you-I remember you saying before that you were made uncomfortable by it.”

She’d been humbled by the fact that he’d remembered. “I am, and thank you for calling me. I know that we've sort of thought this could be coming ever since they got together really, or _you_ have at least, but do you think that it’s true?” she’d shuffled on the spot at that point. A toilet had flushed in the background. 

“I do not know, but I think that it is likely,” he’d thought about the question seriously, despite all the movement that had seemed to be around him. “I know that my father dearly cares for her, you have seen the way they look at one another yourself, and, it is always his intention when he starts any relationship I think to want it to lead to marriage and a happy-ever-after that will not lead him to be lonely again. What are _your_ thoughts on the issue?” He’d hoped that she wouldn’t be negative about the thing and had put it down simply to not wanting to get another headache about it all rather than it _possibly_ being about not wanting to lose her as a companion. 

_“Well,”_ her voice had come across as rather harried, as she’d been aware of the shortening amount of time they’d had, before homeroom, “It will be strange for me if they _do_ marry, but I would like them to be happy together if they can be, and when I say _‘they,’_ I mean, ‘they.’ Your father is a good man Jumin. I can see that he respects and cares for my mother a lot.”

“Thank you,” he’d murmured, touched by the fact that she’d been able to see such a thing. 

“I'm just not sure what to make of the timing,” she’d gone on, “I'm sure it doesn’t seems to them, but to me at least it appears quite sudden. I can’t help but wish, and I know that this is selfish of me, but I can’t help but _wish_ that if anything _had_ been decided upon that they’d mentioned it to us. Given us some kind of warning or something.” 

Jumin had been made worried slightly by her words, but he’d gone on to say, “Which makes me think that my father has not asked your mother yet. I think he’d be announcing it to the _world_ if he had done such a thing and she’d agreed. I think it is more than likely then that some of the media caught my father going into a jewellery store for the ring or perhaps into _many_ of them,” he’d mused and MC’s mind had boggled at the thought. “As for the media I can”- 

The bell signalling that they should make their way to homeroom had sounded at that point. 

_“Ah,_ there is the bell. Get in touch with me throughout the day if you want to.” He’d hung up promptly. 

Then that Tuesday had happened.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year and thanks to all those who have shown support for this fic. It is much appreciated. :3 
> 
> A note on this chapter-there are mentions of suicide, which some of you might find upsetting so please take care.

Despite the rumours that had started to circle the previous day Tuesday had started off fairly normally for both MC and Jumin. 

The pair of them had gotten up early around six o’ clock. Jumin and his father had discussed their respective days ahead with one another-MC’s mother had apparently felt under the weather with a head cold and had stayed in bed a bit longer-and although Jumin had respected and grown more comfortable with MC’s mother by that point it had been nice for him to have some one-on-one time with his father. MC meanwhile had just grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to school. The apartment that she’d lived in had still felt stifling and she’d preferred to spend as little time there as possible. Being away from her father and brother had made her feel free. She’d wondered, if the rumours about her mother marrying Chairman Han were true, whether they might let her move in with them in time. She would be able to see Jumin all the while then, as well as Elizabeth the 3rd and of course her _mother_ -her reason for having gotten to know Jumin and to be able to see what a good person he was in the first place. Even if she _wouldn’t_ be able to, she’d assured herself that it was not really _all_ that long, before she would be graduating and be able to move out. A couple of years more and then she would be able to escape the mostly lifeless apartment-Chae-Yeong had gotten her plant after plant, enough to fill up both MC’s room nicely and the little balcony that is outside for her to take care of-and go to college. That was if she would be _able_ to get into college of course, but MC had tried to be positive about her ability to do such a thing and had tried to ignore the way that the media had followed her to school again and how that had made her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps she’d ask Jumin if he wouldn’t mind getting his father to loan her a security guard or two on such days. She’d feel _much_ safer then, knowing that she had some support. 

She’d met up with Jaehee in the cafeteria, as Jaehee, who helped out there on some mornings before school, had been on duty that day. MC liked going in as soon as she was able to on the days that her friend was there and have a bit of a chat as Jaehee served. Jaehee also made the most _amazing_ coffee-one of the main reasons for her wanting to volunteer in the cafeteria had been the fact that it gave her the chance to make coffee and experiment with making it in the quieter moments, as though it had become a passion that Jaehee had become interested in through escaping her aunt and uncle by going to various café’s with MC, she was not allowed to do more than help out under her aunt’s instructions at home. Experimenting would _never_ have been allowed. Fresh from coffee they’d then continued their conversation by their lockers until it had been time for homeroom at ten-past eight. Classes had begun at half-past that same hour and are fifty-minutes long. MC had tried not to fall asleep in their first class and had benefited from the coffee that Jaehee had given her. _Then,_ in their ten-minute break in between each class they had fuelled up on the stuff even more than they had done already-that time from the vending machine, which unfortunately served poorly made coffee-and MC had listened to Jaehee talk about the theatre show that she’d managed to get herself to at the weekend. _[‘The lead was a boy from our school! He was wonderful MC! You have to come the next time he performs!’]_ Theatre and outdoor leisure pursuits were becoming a big part of Jaehee’s life. Regarding the theatre MC had heard similar things in texts she’d received from her over that weekend, but the thing had made Jaehee too happy, for MC to ever _dream_ of interrupting her or to say that she’d told her such a thing before and she’d found herself smiling into her coffee. They’d had to hotfoot it to their next class after that though. 

In contrast _Jumin,_ who, though had, had people trying to talk to him and get what they’d been able to from him as per usual-invitations to this or that with the words that of _course_ he should invite his father too-had made it to his own class _much_ earlier than MC had done after he’d left V who had been busy chatting with his girlfriend Rika. Rika had commented to Jumin, before he’d gone that she was surprised that she hadn’t heard him complaining about his father’s girlfriend or her family of late. Jumin had pinkened ever so slightly when he’d remembered how MC had doted on Elizabeth the 3rd the last time that she’d come over and he’d felt something curious inside him. Once again he’d spent a moment trying to compare what he felt for MC and what he felt for Rika-it was difficult because he had no name for the sensations-before he’d quickly dismissed the thing. Rika was with V after all. _MC_ on the other hand…he had missed the dark, crackling look in Rika’s eyes, before he’d muttered something about how he was just trying a different technique since it had appeared like his father was going to be with that woman with or _without_ his blessing. Rika had looked intrigued at his words and not all that pleased by them. Whilst V had looked surprised as if he himself had just realized that what Rika had said had been true at that point and as if Jumin’s response to it all had been equally as shocking. Jumin had walked quickly away from them both, his mind still on the conversation that he’d had with them and on MC. He’d considered texting her at that point and asking her if she would be coming up to the penthouse again after school. If she’d had plans to then perhaps they could have met somewhere and gone there together? For some reason though he’d put the thing off and hadn’t gone through with it. He’d been worried that he wouldn’t phrase it right or he would offend her. Rika’s probing had worried him somewhat and he’d been reminded of the fact that he hadn’t _really_ been social in a voluntary way before MC had come into his life. It had all been about the business, but MC had no connection to the business at all. After fourth period and at lunchtime though he’d caved and had texted MC, not about his first reason, but for another one. 

**I can see you in the queue. You best not look for me just in case someone notices, but I am glad to see that you look happy with your friend.** He’d felt a little thrill he must admit when he’d watched as MC had felt the thrum of her phone in the waistband of her skirt and gone on to pull it out covertly. [ _Phones,_ strictly speaking, were not much tolerated at school and if caught then they could be taken away from students for weeks. He’d vowed to himself though that if _that_ had ever happened to _her_ phone then he’d buy her a new one instantly and she’d be able to use it in the interim of her purchasing a new one. He hadn’t wanted to become like his father, buying girls gift after gift all the same, but if he’d been able to be useful and make her happy through doing so then he hadn’t been able to see _why_ he shouldn't. She had been kind to him after all and had proved herself, that far, as someone who had been different and hadn’t wanted to take advantage of either him _or_ his father.] Her brow had furrowed in that cute way of hers-the same way it had done whenever he’d asked her a question in the past. Then his heart had jumped and he might have actually done so _physically_ when she’d looked delighted. He’d wondered if his message had _really_ been the cause of such happiness, but then a symbol had come up just beneath his message, which had meant that she’d been replying to his and he’d waited for her response patiently, or as patiently as he’d been able to anyway.

_“Jumin?”_ He’d whirled around from where he’d been sat with his half-eaten lunch. For a moment his silly heart had thought that MC had managed to fly across the room to him or some such nonsense, but there had just been some other girl stood there. He’d felt disappointed. 

_“Ya?”_ he’d said to her casually, before he’d raked a hand through his hair and made himself look all the more attractive. It was such a technique that he’d avoided doing if he’d been able to help it-he’d seemed to attract the girls enough as it was after all-but he’d been hopeful that MC would have looked across at that point and had not taken into consideration the fact that it might have kept the newcomer more keenly by his side. 

“My name’s Sarah and you’re a very big inspiration to me,” the girl who has long magenta hair, light-brown eyes and a heart shaped face had announced, as if Jumin uttering that one syllable had given her permission to tell him her entire life-story. He’d looked at her sceptically then, annoyed with the fact that if MC had looked across then she might have noticed the girl _more_ than him. “I want to start my own business. I'm looking for a mentor. Maybe _you_ could give me some tips?” She’d fluttered her eyelashes at him then. As she’d leant forwards she’d made the usual bulky looking school uniform seem somewhat scandalous as she’d undone part of her shirt and loosened the tie to reveal more of her breasts, whilst her skirt had flared out in strands from her hips as she’d twisted this way and that and revealed the pale skin of her thighs, which had jutted above knee-high white socks. 

He’d pulled a face of barely disguised disgust at her and had slid a little further up the bench-though not enough for her to sit down upon it and be next to him-he’d learnt that lesson before from an incident with _another_ girl. The one in front of him had batted her eyelashes at him again, as if she was some sort of sweet animal in a children’s movie, though her clicking red nails had betrayed the fact that she was more an insect-waiting to invade and infest him. His gaze had gone to MC at that point-in order to be cleansed. _She_ hadn’t made the school uniform-a light brown jacket with dark brown trim, a dark v-necked sweater and tie with hints of yellow in its stripes look unseemly and it had occurred to Jumin then that it had looked more _interesting_ that way. With the flesh unconcealed with Sarah there was no mystery as to what she looked like, but with _MC…_ Jumin had swallowed. He shouldn't have been thinking of her in such a way. They had been practically step-siblings. Yet when his phone had buzzed and he’d seen MC putting hers away again it had made him smile. An unimpressed cough had drawn his attention back to the girl who had been beside him. “I'm busy right now.” He’d gone to look at his phone once more.

_Yes, being with Jaehee makes me feel happy._ Jumin had felt jealous from reading the thing. He’d wanted to be able to make _her_ feel that way. He sometimes liked to think that she felt such a thing whenever she had been with Elizabeth the 3rd and him, but he hadn’t been able to be sure of it, _and,_ in any case anyone would be happy if they were around Elizabeth the 3rd. He’d stake his life on it. _Thank you for caring so much about the amount of media attention that I'm getting. It’s probably not the right thing to say right now, but I wanted to ask you something about it the next time I see you._ **‘How very interesting,’** Jumin had thought to himself, more and more intrigued by her all the while. _Don’t let me chicken out of it, ?_ **‘I won’t.’** _Anyway, how is your day going? I hope you’re not getting too much attention today either?_ she’d put. 

Jumin had just been about to reply to her when the girl who had been next to him had flounced off. As he’d smirked at the fact Jumin had put: **I am curious about what you have to say. Hopefully you won’t make me wait too long?**

She hadn’t been able to reply at that point because she’d _finally_ been able to pick out and pay for her food, but reading the text alone had made her feel breathless and the same sort of smile that she’d sent him-too perfectly timed to be noticeable, as she’d done it, whilst Jaehee and she had found their seats-had given him hope that it wouldn’t be _too_ long and he’d left the canteen feeling much happier than he normally would have done. It had felt like his life was becoming less predictable than it was normally and he was finding this particular change to be an interesting one. 

*

MC had been a little shy from all their messages and Jaehee had tried to work out _who_ they had been from-it had been hard for her to imagine as she’d never seen MC interacting with any boys, whilst they’d been inside of school and she’d never heard her mention anyone outside of it. They’d had different classes after lunch though and so Jaehee hadn’t been able to interrogate her for all that long.

MC had felt sleepy in class. The air hadn’t been that mild yet at that time of year, but digesting the lunch she’d had, _had_ made her feel slightly warm and stupid and Jaehee not being there, so that they could mutually attempt to keep one another awake hadn’t helped matters either. She’d considered sending another text to Jumin, but had been worried that she might be caught or that it might lead to _him_ being caught, which would have been far worse in her mind as it would have surely damaged their friendship. _She_ had been equally distracting his mind in his _own_ classes and V had noticed that he had seemed more aloof than usual. He had tried furthering the conversation that Rika had started with Jumin earlier. Jumin had just repeated the same explanation that he’d given at that point and V had looked surprised about the thing. Usually Jumin was mature for his age, but the one matter that he _could_ be guaranteed to be childish about had been the issue of his father’s partners and how quickly they seemed to change. 

_Then,_ at half past four, it had been time to return to homeroom and MC hadn’t been able to fall into the same space as Jumin in her head at that point because she’d had to assist, as they all had to, in cleaning the classrooms-there were no janitors in Korean schools and the students were expected to clean up after themselves. She’d been reunited with Jaehee and Jaehee had teased her and had asked her if she’d received any more mysterious messages. MC had blushed and had shaken her head, but just the thought of Jumin had made her smile. She’d gone to her supplemental English class and then dinner along with self-study had shortly followed afterwards. She’d popped into the library from eleven to one to clarify a few things that had come up in her self-study, taken out a couple of extra books and written some notes, before, _and,_ whilst she’d dreamed of her bed, she’d headed home. 

Her father and brother had talked quietly in the small kitchenette. The books and knick-knacks on the shelves had grown dusty in her mother’s absence. The men had nodded at her and had quizzed her about her latest test scores [her father had still been on the fence about whether or not he should try sending her to a Hagwon that they could _really_ not afford, but that might boost her Math and he’d seemed to be trying to decide through questioning her relentlessly as soon as she’d gotten home every night.] Other than that though she’d thankfully been left alone and had headed to her room. She’d had to double-check her schedule for the next day and make a few final notes, but at least she had been able to do that in her _room._ She hadn’t had to do it underneath the glare of harsh lights in the library or her firm teacher’s gaze. She’d closed the door to her room gratefully behind her and had breathed in the oxygen that was being generated from all the leafy, green plants that her mother had bought her. She’d almost sneezed because of them, before she’d gotten everything that she’d needed out of her cherry pink rucksack, dumped the rest on the floor and then had headed across to her bed. Being in her haven again, and the place, which she’d felt the safest in with thoughts of Mother and Jumin in her head, she’d smiled. 

* 

Everything had been eerily silent at that time of night. Jumin had quite _liked_ such a thing. He’d wished that the sound could be that way _all_ the time and had half-wondered if there was a better way of creating sound insulation. _Was_ there a way to muffle the city? Perhaps that would be another business idea to look into. He’d felt _sure_ that a lot more work would be achieved if all the sound were blocked out and all the tangles in his head would be straighter. He’d thought about texting MC, or even _phoning_ her then, and discussing the idea with her, but it had been late and he’d decided that he should probably not disturb her. In any case he’d felt a little uncertain ever since Rika had said what she had done that day. 

His chauffeur-Driver Kim-had worked as efficiently as ever and the limo had glided through the city. Jumin had gotten home a little before two o’ clock in the morning. His mind had slowly turned to his father and MC’s mother. He’d wondered if they’d be in the penthouse? Chae-Yeong surely would be. His father might still be at work though. If MC’s mother _were_ at least in the penthouse, however, then she would be more than likely waiting up for him to return home as she had taken to doing ever since she’d moved in with them. Previous girlfriends of his father might have done such a thing in order to flatter him and get into his good graces enough so that they’d be able to control him, but Chae-Yeong had never done such a thing. In contrast she gave him his own space and had only asked him the _occasional_ question in order to try and get to know him. She was complimentary without being over the top. She’d never attempted to _force_ her concern [fake or otherwise] upon him as some of the others had done. She merely seemed to want to want to talk to him like she would with her _own_ daughter and had meant no harm by the thing. At first, however, her doing such a thing _had_ put him on edge _because_ of all of his previous experiences with his father’s women, but then he’d slowly come to witness more of her interaction with MC and he’d realized at that point that there was little difference in the way that Chae-Yeong treated them, aside from the fact that she would have nagged at MC more and felt unable to do such a thing so much with Jumin, him not even being her step-son after all. She would have told him off though if he’d done anything that had truly warranted it he’d sensed. He’d relaxed gradually after he’d come to such a realization and had tried to be more willing to participate more in their nightly discussion over tea. He’d even helped her _make_ it in a certain way, like his family had done for generations, and had tried to give her information on how MC was doing in order to please her instead of her solely trying to _please_ him like the case had usually been with his father’s girlfriends. He’d even felt that he looked _forward_ to the experience and had begun to find it beneficial himself, as it had helped him to process the day that had just happened, before the next one had begun and put things into context. It had _even,_ sometimes, made him feel _loved_ just to know that there was _someone_ there who was waiting for him. He’d _known_ that his father would have liked to be that person _himself,_ but his father hadn’t always been able to do so what with work and all. It irked him a little bit to know how _pleased_ his father would have been to see them sitting and drinking tea with one another like that, but he’d tried not to let it get to him all that much. 

He’d scurried across the lobby. His security guards had fallen back and had remained in it, as he’d entered the elevator. The elevator’s red velvet walls had seemed to cushion his mind from the harsh glare of the city lights. He’d even managed to have a faint vision of MC and him and their faces getting close together, as their hands had idly touched at Elizabeth the 3rd’s fur and found it to be a pleasant image. The elevator door had slid open and had drawn him out of his daydream. Jumin’s hand had absent-mindedly adjusted his leather satchel bag on his shoulder, but then the bag had slid off of him completely, ruffled his clothes on its way down and had landed with a clatter on the elevator floor. Jumin had dumbly looked down at it and had realized vaguely at that point that the bottom of the elevator had not been insulated in any shape or form-probably because of the constant cleaning that would have been required if it _had_ been. Jumin had made a note in his head to talk to his father about it in any case, before he’d stepped out of the elevator. It would be _much_ more comfortable if there were a softer surface there. His mouth had been drawn open as he’d properly taken in the sight that had awaited him. There had been a light fixing above the dining table-Jumin had _always_ equally loathed and liked such a thing. Part of him had thought it a little _too_ harsh, whilst the other side of him had acknowledged the point that his father had always remarked upon, which had been that it made the food look its best. He’d wished that he’d complained about it in that moment however or even ripped it down with his bare hands himself, despite the pain that, that would have surely caused to his skin, because right then MC’s mother-no, Chae-Yeong, he’d needed to think of her as distantly as he’d been able to in that moment and _not_ MC’s mother, let alone as the woman who had been _personally_ kind to him-had hung from it as if she had been doing some sort of magic act in the green and white dress that his father had gotten her. The neck that he’d sometimes admired in the light and thought that she’d passed onto her daughter had been perfectly broken in its noose. The noose itself had been one of his father’s belts and the C & R logo had winked ironically at him. His father had never worn the thing. He’d thought it tacky, but something sentimental in him had kept it all the same, perhaps as a token of how far he had come. The dining room table had been on its side just beneath Chae-Yeong. What with the lightness of her dress in the mostly dark furnishings of the room it had felt as if she had been in the middle of a forest and had been left in that spot to warn others. The glass windows had acted like some sort of waterfall behind her and had glossily reflected her. Her long hair had moved a little in a ghostly fashion and Jumin had thought that there must have been a draught coming in from somewhere. He’d gripped at his forehead because he’d kept on noticing all those stupid things, as he was wont to do as a future businessman, and none of them had mattered right in that moment apart from the woman who had been in front of him. The woman whose daughter he’d just dreamt about. The woman who was now dead.  
His heart had pounded like it had done when Elizabeth the 3rd had gotten freaked out in a thunderstorm and he hadn’t been able to calm her.  
In the present he’d stepped forwards just a little. It had been _then_ that he’d noticed the ceiling fan that had been just behind Chae-Yeong and how it had whirred softly and as soon as he’d become aware of the sound he’d wondered _why_ he hadn’t heard it before. It had made the floor length cream curtains be blown about.  
He’d gone forwards with the intention of switching the fan off at that point, before he’d gotten distracted again, by the sight of Chae-Yeong’s neck. It had looked a little red and flushed from the strain of the belt. The elevator had dinged and gone back down once more and had taken his bag with all his school things in it. Jumin had felt a little irritated by the fact and at a loss as to what to do at that point and he’d let out a soft curse, before he’d quickly looked at Chae-Yeong again. She’d never seemed to like crude language and had been put off by any of his father’s associates who had used such words in front of her. There had always been something quite _delicate_ about her really. Her eyelids had been half-swept down as if she might have peered at him. He’d wanted to touch at the marks on her neck; he hadn’t been able to _explain_ the thing. But then he’d withdrawn his trembling fingers because he hadn’t been able to go through with it. He’d sighed at himself and had felt ashamed. He had acted emotionally and gotten distracted in the way that his father did around his girlfriends. His heart had been squeezed, but he had needed to think logically in that moment.  
He’d taken a step back from the scene, before he’d switched the fan off and had thanked the more peaceful silence for letting him think more neutrally.  
He’d gone to the window. He’d pressed his forehead and palms against the cool glass and if anyone had looked across from one of the other buildings then it might have looked like his body had been physically _crying_ out for help. He’d flung the curtain shut in embarrassment and a sort of triumph too for that way the world had been shut out momentarily. He’d turned back to the scene again. He’d been able to think more clearly. He’d looked around the frame of Chae-Yeong-her body had almost caused the light fixing to buckle and it would need to be replaced-glad that he hadn’t been able to see so much of her cold skin from that angle and he’d tried to think about what he’d needed to do. He’d _known_ that there hadn’t been much time, before they would have company-his father most likely-for the elevator had quickly begun to ascend again and with the pressure renewed his thoughts had felt cramped. His eyes had darted around. He’d spotted a golden brown coloured envelope that had been on the coffee table and had hurried across to it, as he’d tried not to think of all the times that they’d sat around the table together when MC had been around, for that wouldn’t be of any help to anyone right in that moment. He’d seen that the envelope had been addressed to MC and had been in her mother’s script and his stomach had lurched. All thoughts of MC, her kindness and how the news would surely devastate her had returned to him. He’d swiped up the envelope hurriedly and had tucked it inside the inner pocket of his jacket. He’d felt glad that even _with_ his bag gone he’d still had somewhere that he had been able to quickly put the thing. He would _never_ have been able to make it to his bedroom and back there on time. Whatever the envelope contained MC _deserved_ to have it and to have it without it having gone through a realm of people first, as he’d sensed that it would have done if he’d just left it there. 

The elevator door had slid open at that point and Jumin had heard his father as he’d half-called out his name in a questioning fashion, before Jumin’s bag had fallen to the elevator floor for the second time that night. 

Hurried footsteps had sounded at that point and Jumin had turned and watched as his father had gone across to Chae-Yeong, his arms held wide, as if he might embrace her. The sight of the thing had made Jumin recall how he’d felt like he’d wanted to touch her before that and had brought the sense of hot shame back to him. What would MC have said if she’d been able to see him? Would she have been horrified? Or would she have thought that he _should_ have acted emotionally and that his response hadn’t gone far enough? His inner turmoil had been cut off by his father’s cry-

“Oh darling! Why would you do this to yourself?” His father had rubbed at his eyes frantically as if he hadn’t been able to believe the sight that they had showed him.

The dam had broken at that point. Jumin had been reminded in that moment of how much his father _had_ loved her, that she’d been the most precious being in existence to him and that he hadn’t, to Jumin’s knowledge at least, cheated on her for all the time that he’d known her. All of a sudden every feeling and sound-from the most minute one like the creaking of the fridges and freezers in the kitchen, the hum of electricity that had existed within them to his father’s desperate pleas and the _way_ that his feet stomped about a little on the floor as he’d made them-had seemed to be amplified and the effect had made Jumin’s body tremble and his mouth emit a little cry of, _“Father!”_

His father had whirled around-just as shocked by the sight of Jumin being there it seemed as he had been about the state of MC’s mother. _“Jumin!_ What are you”-

“I just found her like this father.” Jumin’s hands had shaken at that point and he’d curled them, so that his fingers had been able to grip onto the cuffs of his school shirt instead. “I _swear,_ I was just about to call for help.”

The more experienced Han had gone across then and had grabbed his son by the shoulder. Jumin had never seen his father look so pale before. “You must go down to the lobby and tell them to call the police and ambulance service,” he’d told him. Jumin had half-made to turn automatically and follow his father’s instructions. “You must be quiet about the thing Jumin,” his father had sounded gruffer at that point and Jumin had looked back at him, as he’d sought more instruction, “We have to remember _who_ we are and think about the future…” Jumin had _known_ then that he’d meant the _company’s_ future and a sudden hate and bile had risen inside of him. “Do not come back here. Stay in the lobby and direct the emergency services through. They will want to talk to you”-

_“But”-_ Jumin had protested. He’d wanted to stay with his father and try and make sense of it all- _find_ the love that his father had shown for Chae-Yeong when he’d _first_ entered the room.

Chairman Han had looked at him urgently however and had silenced him with just that gaze. “You must tell them the truth and you must tell it to me now. Did you find everything the way it is? You didn't change anything? _Take_ anything? There was no note?” his voice had cracked at the mere thought of there being such a thing and Jumin had felt blissfully relieved for a moment, but his father had hidden his emotion all too soon and become the businessman once more. “I won’t be cross with you if you took anything,” he’d told his son at that point, “But you _must_ give it to me now and before anyone else is able to come.” Jumin had shaken his head instinctively, but he’d felt shock and a stab of pain in his temple a moment later from lying to his father. It _hadn’t_ been the way that things were normally done between them and so much about the day and what he’d just discovered had thrown him. Only one thing had seemed clear at that point-he must get to MC and give her the envelope. Make sure that she has it. His father’s shoulders had slumped back again, so Jumin had _known_ then that the lie he’d told must have been a convincing one. _“Good,”_ his father had looked relieved. “Then go to the lobby and stay there. Do that for me now.”

Finally Jumin had nodded, but before he’d gone into the elevator, where his bag had still been waiting for him, he’d looked back at the scene one last time over his shoulder. His father had been in front of Chae-Yeong again and Jumin’s chest had panged with a pain that had torn through him, as soon as the elevator’s doors had closed. A single tear had trickled down his cheek and as he’d gripped onto his cuffs with hands that had shaken and had tried to keep himself together more his knuckles had turned white. 

*

MC had woken with a sudden jolt, surprised that she’d fallen asleep so suddenly and when she’d _still_ had a couple of books and reams of notes upon her bed. She’d at least managed to change into her white pyjamas with grey stripes upon them. As she’d adjusted her hair to one side of her head she’d winced when she’d almost managed to sit on her pen and put it to one side on the bedside cabinet, whilst she’d begun to collect her things up. If either her father or brother had walked in at that point then they would have accused her of being careless with her studies and her future with the way that she’d fallen asleep and had left everything laying about. It had only occurred to her a couple of minutes later when she’d felt more awake that the _reason_ she might have woken had been because there seemed to be more of a commotion coming from beyond her room than there had previously been. At first she’d wondered if the reason for such a thing had been that her father and brother had gotten drunk again because she’d been able to hear their loud voices, but there had also been the sound of the TV and it was unusual for them to have it on, whilst they drank-normally they’d prefer to simply sit and talk or play cards for money-their one semi-rebellion against the state. On a normal night her brother’s cigarette smoke would have lazily caressed the air and threatened to go beneath the door of MC’s bedroom and suck the air from the plants. Abandoning her things MC had risen from the bed, slipped into her dark green dressing gown and gone instinctively to the door. She’d pressed her ear against it for a time, but every voice had seemed to be layered on top of the next like a stack of cards and she’d been none the wiser to figuring out the situation. Her heart pace had accelerated as she’d opened the door. Her brother and father’s harsh words had cut off as soon as they’d seen her. Her father had been sat at the dining table with his sleeves rolled back. He’d faced the small TV that is on one of the kitchen’s counters. His fist had been close to being pressed into the side of his forehead. Her brother had gesticulated behind him. He’d seemed to be trying to convince her father of something. His face had been flushed, eyes bright. She’d suspected that he’d had a little to drink, but not much and she hadn’t been able to smell any smoke on him. 

“They have killed our mother!” Bo-Seon had waved a hand at the TV. 

MC’s stomach had dropped like an elevator. 

“Don’t tell the girl _that!”_ Father had admonished him. “We don’t know _what_ has happened,” his voice had sounded a little excited to counter-act Bo-Seon’s. 

As her heart had thumped somewhere in her ears and as she’d felt suddenly more awake MC had made a half-circle and had come to a stop next to her brother. She’d looked at the TV. 

It had been a live news report. MC had recognized, although it had been dark, that the focus had been on the building that housed the penthouse where her mother and Jumin had lived with Jumin’s father Chairman Han. An ambulance had been parked up on the camera’s near side and a body in a bag on top of a stretcher had been brought out of the building. It had been loaded into the ambulance in front of the starless sky and it had been impossible to tell who it had belonged to. MC had felt sick at that point. She’d wondered if it had really been her mother like Bo-Seon had seemed to think it was. If it were Jumin or Chairman Han instead? She’d felt more and more afraid the longer her mind had raced and as the situation had grown more real to her. Her body had begun to shiver. 

“Go back to bed,” Hak-Yeon had ordered her, but she’d stood there. 

“You have to try and phone someone,” Bo-Seon had instructed their father since the silence had already been breached. 

“What makes you think it is Mother?” she’d asked Bo-Seon then and she’d looked at him desperately. “It could be anyone. Someone who just works there maybe?” the thought hadn’t exactly _pleased_ her no matter _who_ it had been, but it was a bit better than it being anyone else and selfishly those that _she’d_ known. _‘Please not Mother, Jumin or Chairman Han,’_ she’d thought, _‘Please not any of those three,’_ she’d prayed at that point. She’d _known_ that Jumin would be devastated if anything happened to his beloved father and the situation had not sat right with her either-Chairman Han had _always_ been very kind to her. 

“Of _course_ it is her! They have taken her from us forever. That is what these rich types are like. They want everything for themselves and they have no care.” Bo-Seon had been so convinced of his own narrative that anything else he’d heard had sounded pathetic to him. 

“But why? _Why_ should it be her?” she’d persisted.

A knock on the door had sounded. 

“Because of _that,”_ Bo-Seon had looked at her levelly at that point, as their father’s breath had caught in his throat, “The knock on the door.” Her brother had shifted to stand just behind her and had gripped at her shoulders. He’d appeared resigned, as their father, with a bit of a dry sob, had shushed them both and made his way to the door. He’d stood there for a moment in front of the thing and had looked more thin and vulnerable than MC had ever seen him. It had made MC push her back more firmly into her brother’s chest and he had muttered a low, _“Steady,”_ to her, but her mind had wished, _‘No more bad news. Not for any of us.’_ Her father had opened the door. 

A couple of bulky uniformed policemen had been quick to make their way inside. 

“Oh no,” MC had very nearly lost control of herself. She’d buried her head in her hands and the lines of her palms had soon become damp because of her tears. It must have been her mother, she’d realized in that moment. Anyone else and they would not have had a late-night call like that. Bo-Seon had been right-it _was_ the knock on the door that every family dreaded-but things had still not felt any more real for her. 

The policemen had looked at MC in puzzlement, _before,_ and as they’d caught sight of what was on the TV one of them had said, “Ah, you have seen the news?” he’d sounded pleased by such a thing and MC had felt angry with him. She had _known_ that it had been irrational of her, but she hadn’t been able to help it. 

“Yes. What happened? Is it about that why you’ve come?” Even though he’d asked the question directly and with a sharpness that her _brother_ usually favoured it had felt to MC as if she’d been listening to her father through a wall. Bo-Seon had shuffled his feet impatiently and no doubt thought their father’s question a wasted one. 

“Yes sir. Maybe you better sit down?” one of the policemen had said.

“I will _not_ be sitting down and none of my children will be either. Please tell us what has happened”-

“The girl then”- the officer had looked at MC with conflicted features upon his face.

_“Please,”_ Hak-Yeon had pleaded with the man. 

“Yes, of course sir. It is my regret that we have to inform you that the body of your wife was found in the early hours of this morning.”

“What happened to her?” Hak-Yeon’s voice had been curt, but thick, as if already knowing that the thing he’d feared had happened had started to take its effect and he’d _truly_ been on his own. MC had let out a small moan at that point and the image of the policemen had blurred in front of her. Bo-Seon had held her upright, but his grip had been almost painful as he’d done so. 

“That is still being investigated sir, but it seems at this point like she may have taken her own life”-

_“W-What?!”_ MC had been stunned. Bo-Seon had muttered something angrily. Hak-Yeon had looked shocked, but he’d shushed them, as he’d wanted to get as much knowledge on the situation as he’d been able to.

“There do not seem to be any suspicious circumstances, but we will do our best to work out what happened and to keep you updated on the situation.” 

“You have nothing else to tell us?” Hak-Yeon had just about managed to keep a stern demeanour up. 

“No sir. Only that we wanted to come and tell you as soon as possible, before it hits the news.”

Hak-Yeon’s had looked a little mollified at that. “It is nice to be treated as her _real_ family for once instead of the abandoned one.” His words had cut into MC at that point and the officers had looked uncomfortable.

“We regret that we have had to come here and tell you such a thing sir and that we do not have any further information at this moment to give to you. We also wish to inform you of how very sorry we are for your loss.” 

Hak-Yeon had nodded blankly at them and they’d retreated not long after. He’d shut the door behind them and had taken a bit of a breath that had both been a heavy and steadying one. 

“I told you! She was not looked after and could not cope with it! All the luxury did no wonders for her! _Well,_ she should not have left us in the first place!”- that of course had come crossly from Bo-Seon at that point. 

“It is not _mother’s_ fault!” MC had extracted herself and turned on him immediately. His words had been made worse in her opinion by the fact that they’d seemed to bellow in her ears and she’d still been able to hear them echoing even though she’d gotten further away. 

“Whose is it then? It was _her_ who got greedy and got too attracted to the good life”-

“Don’t pretend that isn’t what you want! What _any_ of us do!”- MC had retorted. 

“Be quiet the pair of you,” Hak-Yeon had snapped at them, but he’d sounded tired. He’d shuffled past them both back to the dining room table and had lowered himself into the chair. “Have some respect,” he’d murmured. She’d sensed that he’d probably had a headache and had been exhausted by it all. 

Bo-Seon had blanched at their father’s words. 

MC had gone back towards her room. She’d wanted to be alone and somehow start to come to terms with all that she’d just heard. Her hand had just touched fleetingly at the handle, however, when there had come _another_ knock on the front door. 

_“What?_ Do they have _more_ information on our mother already?” Bo-Seon had opened the door impatiently. MC had turned wearily around. Her head had not known how it would be able to cope with any more information that night. She’d been stunned in the next moment, however, when Bo-Seon had made a strangled noise of fury and had grabbed at whoever had been on the other side of the door. Messy black hair had bobbed into view for a moment and MC’s heart had jumped simultaneously with fear in her throat. Hak-Yeon had gotten to his feet and had gestured that she should stay back with his hand. “Do you have no honour at all?” Bo-Seon’s voice had been outraged. “You come here after what your family has done? After it has _destroyed_ our own? Do you come here to gloat?” Bo- Seon’s grip had grown fiercer at that point and MC had crept closer. She’d seen that Bo-Seon’s face had been inches from the other person’s-

“I'm not here for a bad reason! I just want to see MC!” the receiver of those words had squealed and MC had hurried forwards then, as she’d recognized the voice instinctively. 

_“Jumin!”_ she hadn’t been able to disguise the brightness that had edged around the fear in her tone and he had not been able to hide the slight softening of his eyes upon seeing her _either,_ as concerned as he had been for her. They’d both been glad that the other had been there. 

“I told you to stay back,” Hak-Yeon had been heated in that moment. He had not liked the way that his daughter and that boy had reacted to one another and he’d sensed even then that the situation would have to be handled most carefully.

“Put him down Bo,” MC had urged her brother to stop his threatening behaviour, to see some _reason_ in the situation that hadn’t made any sense at all. 

“This one’s family is why”-

“Put him _down!”_ MC had screeched then and she’d frightened Jumin at the same time. He’d wished that he hadn’t escaped his security guards, so that they could have rescued him. MC had gone over there herself at that point and had tried not to be too dazzled by Jumin’s familiar sandalwood scent, as she sometimes had been and attempted to wrestle away her brother’s square, insistent fingers from Jumin’s school jacket. Her father had gripped her around the middle and had tried to pull her back. 

“Don’t hurt her please!” the words had spilled out of Jumin’s mouth automatically, and as Bo-Seon’s hold on him had lessened a little in surprise Jumin had seized the opportunity and had snuck free from him. He’d moved determinedly into the apartment despite the fear he’d had of MC being injured on top of her mother’s death that night. He’d loosened his tie a little. Bo-Seon had slammed the door shut after him. Jumin had looked terrified at being trapped in there. Hak-Yeon had let go of MC and she’d tried to give Jumin a bit of a reassuring look, but he’d seemed to be in shock and traumatized. 

“Like your entire family have hurt her?” Bo-Seon’s lip had curled, “All of that pressure and scrutiny and _none_ of you helped her did you?! Your father just wanted to take what he could from her and then discard her”- 

_“Don’t_ insult my father/ _Please._ I just want to see MC,” Jumin had begged at that point. He’d looked across at Hak-Yeon. 

“Why should I let you?” Hak-Yeon had paced then and MC had thought him explicitly cruel in that moment. Whatever had happened Jumin was one of her _only_ friends in the entire world, though of course, in fairness, her family hadn’t been _aware_ of the fact, _but,_ in any case shouldn't she be allowed to see him? “After tonight why should I trust any of your family with mine ever again? You may not have killed her like my son suggests that you did, but _clearly_ something has gone wrong for her to die at such a young age. Under _your_ family’s care.” He’d stopped at that point and had looked at Jumin then. “Was she simply weak _or-?”_

Jumin had looked more pained and twisted than MC had ever seen him before. His face had been pale and streaks across it had belied the fact that he’d already shed a desperate tear or two over the night’s events. Despite her _own_ pain her heart had gone out to him in that moment and the fact that he may have cared so much about her mother, for it to have affected him.

_“Please_ father,” she’d begged in turn, “Let us talk to one another. It is not _Jumin’s_ fault that all this has happened. He did not tie the noose around her neck.” Jumin had blanched at that point. Even though MC had surely not been aware of the _exact_ method that her mother had taken her own life with she’d been spookily accurate in that moment. Bo-Seon however had snorted, as if what his sister had said had been debatable. 

_“Father,”_ Bo-Seon had warned, just to push the issue further. 

“You have ten minutes,” Hak-Yeon had finally decided at that point. 

MC’s heart had soared. She’d met Jumin’s eyes and had begun to lead the way quickly to her room, eager to make the most of every moment with him. 

“Not in there,” Hak-Yeon had protested weakly. 

MC had turned around at that point. She’d chanced a glance at Jumin. His expression had told her that they would _need_ their privacy. _“Please_ Father.” She’d seen a struggle of something going on in her father’s mind and had held her insistent gaze. _Finally-_

“Ten minutes,” Hak-Yeon had slumped. He’d had no energy to argue with her any more-the night had drained him of such a thing-and he’d sat back down again on his chair. His eyes had already been on his watch. 

Jumin had made his way through the minefield as Bo-Seon had berated his father for trusting their daughter with such a boy. _[‘His father killed your wife do you want to give his son an opportunity to take your daughter from you also?’]_ Finally he’d been able to enter MC’s room and had shut the door tentatively behind them. He’d been overwhelmed momentarily by the sight and smell of all the plants, by _wanting_ to look around her room and drink it all in and then by the girl who had been in front of him. The _beautiful_ [for that seemed just like it had been fact in that moment] vulnerable girl who had tried to save him from her family and who’d been trying to hold it all together. The girl who’d stood there with the collar of her pyjamas-that had stripes just like the ones that he liked to wear-showing outside of her slightly skewed dressing gown and who had tried to give him a smile with her hair a mess. _“Jumin…”_ she’d croaked in a watery fashion. 

He’d gone across there at once at that point as if her voice had pulled him there, pecked her on the hair and had gripped onto her shoulders. She’d willingly fallen against him. Her arms had wrapped themselves around his waist. Her own energy had retreated and he’d felt suddenly shaky himself. Maybe it was from being so close to her in such a distressing situation? At seeing her cry and be upset right there in front of him and having been unable to protect her from it all? It was _something,_ he’d realized, that he would have liked to have done somehow-to have spared her from that pain. Or maybe it was just more delayed shock from everything that he’d been through? The green of her dressing gown had been similar to the green of her mother’s dress and the fabric painting that had hung on the wall above her bed. It had made him feel sick. “It will be all right,” he’d finally forced himself to tell her, though he hadn’t been sure of the thing in that moment. His hand had gone to adjust her dressing gown and make it a little straighter, before he’d rubbed at her back. He’d shivered slightly. He’d still been cold from being outside, but she’d been _so_ warm and he hadn’t known in that moment how _anyone_ could be such a thing. “I don’t know how,” he’d confessed, “But I have to believe that it will be somehow.” She’d swallowed at that point and had tried to take in such words. Slowly she’d nodded. He’d seemed the less calm one right then however and he’d clung to her strongly as he’d told her, “I don’t have long, as you know, but there are a few things that I need to make you understand.” He’d looked over his shoulder at that point. There had been no way to tell whether her father and brother had been trying to listen in. He had not been able to hear voices, yet nor had he heard a creak near by them that would have suggested an intruder. He’d had to chance the thing. 

“What is it?” she’d squeezed at his arm. “Is it-?”

“You’ve been told, going by your earlier words, that it was”-

“Suicide, yes, I know that. What I don’t understand is how this could have all happened Jumin? Is there some truth in what my family are saying?” Jumin had swallowed at that point. _“Not_ in what they are saying about your father and you. I-I _know_ that the both of you were good to her. I just want to understand…did everything with the media-? Was it all the _pressure?_ I just want to understand,” she’d sobbed and he’d held her tightly. 

“Shh,” he’d soothed, “I don’t know. I don’t know _why_ this had to take place." He'd jostled her a little. "She had a head cold apparently this morning, but everything seemed perfectly normal aside from that.” He’d pushed the image of the C & R belt down in his mind. It fitted with her suggestion, but he was _adamant_ that he would not mention that to her. He hadn’t wanted her to know about such detail. He wished for a moment that he had spotted something in her mother's behaviour before that, but he had been too distracted of late with how comfortable both MC and her mother had made him feel. Too _caught_ up in it all. “Just before I came here my father”-who had already been on the brandy, but that was another thing he would not tell her-“Was calling together an emergency boardroom meeting and I'm afraid to tell you, but I think that the truth of the situation is going to be covered up quickly. They will _not_ want it getting out that it was a suicide. It is too uncomfortable, too _inconvenient_ for them”- he’d grimaced at that point. It had made him angry to have to confess such a thing to her, to have to show her the most selfish side of his family on such a dark night as it was already.

_“But…”_ It had sounded like some sort of crazy TV drama or even a _game_ to her addled mind. Covering up her mother’s death had not made any sense to her in that moment. She’d plucked absent-mindedly at his jacket and he’d found that he’d leant back into her naturally. “It’s for the company isn’t it?” she’d finally realized, as the meaning of his words had hit home for her. “It will not look good for them, a suicide happening like this, and not just _anyone,_ but the woman who your father was seeing…” Jumin had flinched, but she’d pulled him steadily back to her. 

“I am so sorry.” He’d rubbed at her back in that moment. He’d wanted to protect her, to do _anything_ he had been able to, but the truth had chased him and it had risen from a red thread from his heart to his throat until finally he’d been forced to confess, “I found her.” Her eyes had widened in astonishment at that point. “That probably won’t be reported either,” he’d told her quickly, _“Or,_ maybe it will, I don’t know, but I found her MC.” He was still certain that he would not be mentioning the belt. 

“I- _what_ did she look like?” MC had gurgled, as she’d peered up at him-her head had only come to just beneath his chin and she’d realized in that moment how tall he was and how his body had managed to wrap around her own so fully. 

He’d let out a breath and teetered over the thing for a moment. Finally he’d decided, “If I don’t tell you that one thing then will you forgive me? I do not want you to _ever_ have that vision branded in your head, Princess,” he’d never called _anyone_ that before and the word had sounded bittersweet on his tongue. She’d nodded tremulously, made more emotional by the fact that _he_ was, that he’d called her that term of endearment when he never would normally do such a thing and that he’d seemed to have clenched his jaw just to make those few words come out. A whispery kind of sob had escaped from her own lips in protest at it all because none of it had been _right._ Her family shouldn't have _had_ to be alerted by the media about her mother’s death. Her mother shouldn't have _died_ in the first place. Jumin should not have been there and talking to her in such a way, so clearly wounded himself. _“Shh.”_ He’d stroked at her hair, whilst he’d desperately tried to keep his own emotion in check. Some of the strands of it had been sticky with tears. He’d rocked her a little, as she’d nuzzled her head into his chest. She’d tried to somehow let his heartbeat soothe the situation. His heart had broken for her as he’d noticed the books and papers that had been behind her on the bed. She had been studying and just getting on with her life, before all this had happened. It had been so _normal_ for her. He’d wanted to be there for her, but he hadn’t known _how_ that was a realistic prospect-not with the way that things had been and in the circumstances of it all. He’d _known_ that her family wouldn’t want him anywhere near her any more. Her hand had alternated between being flat against his chest and gripping onto it more fully. She hadn’t seemed to know what she had been doing. He was both glad that he’d come and not so. “There is one more matter that I have to make you aware of though,” his mind had struggled to focus on just it alone, “I'm sorry, but it is most important.” She’d looked into his grey eyes. The light around them had seemed to be vague, but _somehow,_ even in that dire moment, it had pushed through to her. Her throat had gurgled. Her hand had rubbed encouragingly against his chest and it had made him feel funny and thrown off-guard for a moment. He’d adjusted his position slightly in order to first get out and then hand her the envelope. It had been intact, but a little rumpled after its journey there and Bo-Seon’s rough handling of him before. She’d looked at it curiously. “She left you this. It was on the coffee table,” he’d murmured, his voice just loud enough for her to hear and his throat tight from having to further discuss the painful issue. “I wanted you to have it directly,” he’d explained to her, “I didn't want other people touching it.”

“T-Thank you.” Her fingers had gone to open it at that point, but his own had stopped hers from proceeding. She’d let out a bit of a breath and had looked up at him. 

“Do it in private after I'm gone,” he’d urged her, for he’d _known_ that their acceptable time together was coming to an end. “Only show it to the people that you love and who you want to see it and remember that I will _always_ be here for you, no matter _what_ anyone might say,” he’d finished both tremulously and regretfully, as he’d hoped that he’d be able to be there for her somehow. He’d pecked at her hair, given her one last squeeze and a gentle smile-his mind had worked hard to try and record every contour of her body and everything about the way that she’d made him feel over these past few months, for it hadn’t been normal he’d known and he’d felt perhaps as if he wouldn’t be able to be around her for some time. Then he’d let go of her and had strode towards the door. 

She’d watched him do such a thing, had felt relieved that her family were obviously not close enough to the door to be listening in, hidden the envelope in her cherry rucksack and then gone out to answer any questions they might have. She’d _known_ that she’d have to lie about what Jumin had just told her and her mind had felt scrambled about the thing. She hadn’t been blessed with enough time to think of a suitable cover story, but she’d been aware of the fact that to delay even more would only be worse and make her family all the _more_ suspicious. 

“Who is that boy in relation to you?” Hak-Yeon had asked her at that point. “What did he come here for?”

She’d been sure that she’d been able to _smell_ Jumin’s scent in the air, but he’d already left them. “He’s only a friend Father. We do not know one another all that well, but he wanted to make sure that I was okay. We saw each other sometimes when I visited Mother. He _knows_ that she meant a lot to me.”

_“Good,_ as long as that’s _all_ it is?” Hak-Yeon had paced slightly again and MC had wanted to tell him not to wear himself out, but she’d kept herself quiet. She’d felt stung and had been made guilty from his words too even though she’d not exactly had a reason for the thing. There had been the letter of course, but that had _not_ been what her father was getting at as he had not even _known_ about the letter. He had been worried that Jumin and she were together romantically instead. But though she had been glad to _see_ Jumin, and though her heart had leapt at his presence, it had been because she was so _relieved_ to see a friendly face who was not a member of her family even though he were connected to all of this, hadn’t it? She had hoped perhaps to hear the inside story on what had taken place in the penthouse that night. Hoped that he would _explain_ things for her and unlock the story of her mother’s final breaths on this earth for her. She had always looked _forward_ to seeing him prior to that it was true and something about her had always been _drawn_ to him and admitted to herself that he was attractive, but it hadn’t been anything _stronger_ than that had it? And he’d only called her, _‘Princess,’_ that night because he’d been in a state himself. It hadn’t _meant_ anything, had it? Bo-Seon had looked at her at that point and had frowned as if he’d been able to read the extent of her thoughts. She’d blushed furiously and had looked away from him uncertainly. 

“You must not talk to him any more MC,” that had come from Bo-Seon. MC had glanced at him. She’d thought his attitude too harsh and expected their father to agree with her. On the contrary-

“I concur with Bo-Seon.”

_“Father!”_

He’d rounded on her. “Innocent in this affair or not that boy’s family has tainted our own and done irreparable damage-first with the business and now _this_ having occurred. _Surely_ you can see such a thing?”

“The business stuff happened because you were foolish enough to go along with Bo-Seon!” she’d exclaimed at that point. 

Hak-Yeon’s eyes had flashed and he’d taken a dangerous step towards her. “You will not speak to that boy. You will not seek him out. You will not _be_ with him. If I hear one word to the contrary then so help me God, MC, but I will not _stop_ Bo-Seon from doing what he wants with both him _and_ his family. You understand?” MC had felt mutinous at that point, but she’d nodded. The threat had been enough to make her hold her tongue. She had not _wanted_ her pit bull of a brother being set on Jumin. “In fact, give me your phone,” her father had gone on.

_“Father!”_ she’d protested greatly and had felt a little panicked. Right then her body had felt so heavy about her mother and what her feelings had been for Jumin that there had not been much room for coherent thought and she had not wanted to take any decisive action or let it be taken on her behalf lest it upset things any more. He’d stared her down with folded arms until she’d had no choice but to fetch her phone. 

She’d felt devastated _when,_ after her father had handed her phone back to her and she’d retreated to her room with it, she’d lied on her bed and discovered that he’d not _only_ deleted Jumin’s phone number, but also every trace of every conversation that she’d ever had with him as well. It had been like he’d never even _existed_ in her life. All she’d had were the memories that she’d kept in her head. It had been a similar feeling to _when,_ after her mother had left them, her father had gone around the apartment and removed _every_ last photograph of her [aside from the one that MC had stolen just in time and which she now kept beneath her pillow and showed her mother smiling, her face half-turned to the camera, as her hair flowed beautifully down her shoulders.] As she’d cried though it had been as if the truth had dawned on her and she’d become even _more_ heartbroken in turn when she’d realized in that moment that she was in love with Jumin Han.


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for your support! :3 
> 
> This is a long chapter, but I wanted to bring more members of the RFA properly into the story. I hope you enjoy it. :)

**One Year Later**

It is February again. More specifically it is a year to the day that MC’s mother had taken her own life. As MC attempts to do some self-studying at the library in school she cannot help but think about all that has happened, as well as re-live that night again. Her mother’s death had officially been declared as heart failure and it had been stated that Chairman Han had found her dead in bed upon his return from work. There had been no mention of Jumin. She’d been left to assume in reality that her mother had committed suicide because of the media pressure that had been on her. She’d tried to make herself believe that the false way her mother’s death had been presented as heart failure had been for the best-at least it stopped as much shame being brought on either family and allowed them to continue _somewhat_ respectfully, although C & R’s shares _had_ decreased for a time, before they’d lifted back up again. Hak-Yeon had not let the Han’s pay for a lavish funeral and they’d held a humble, but untraditional one, unlike the one that Chae-Yeong would have been given had she not taken up with another man. MC had been encouraged to not cry and make a fuss during it and act more like the men were supposed to do. Both her father and brother still have a great distrust of the Han’s to this day. 

She can’t be sure-for Jumin has kept his distance from her-but she believes that _some_ discord might also have taken place between him and his father. She’d held a fundraising event at school-to raise money for a foundation that had been set up to help prevent heart failure because she’d still had to uphold the secret of her mother’s death and had not been able to raise money for a suicide prevention clinic like she’d wanted to-and had received a note in her locker, saying that the amount she’d managed to raise for it had been doubled and that a cheque for the same amount had been sent to a suicide prevention clinic under her own name. The tax would be taken care of by the _true_ donor, so she hadn’t needed to worry about such a thing. There had been no signature [although it had ended with the words, _‘From a great admirer of yours’]_ but she _had_ recognized the writing and the paw print at the bottom could _only_ have come from Elizabeth the 3rd. She would have always expected Jumin to be _generous_ with anything that he was involved in because that had seemed to be in his nature, but _that_ generous?! Whilst the fact that he’d also sent the same amount of money off to the clinic that she’d _really_ wanted to raise money for had hinted to her that he’d firmly taken her side in the situation and had been trying to be there for her, as he’d promised her that he would be. She’d sensed that his father wouldn’t have approved and that the money had been Jumin’s own. Perhaps Jumin had been so disgusted that people had so clearly been paid to cover up the truth of what happened in order to protect the company that he’d been _compelled_ to act? _Perhaps,_ even if similar tactics _had_ been used before, because she highly doubted that they’d first been utilized in such a stressful situation after all when everything had happened so quickly, it had hurt Jumin that people who he respected-MC and her mother-had been dragged into the thing. Was she simply being selfish in wanting to think that though? In _wanting_ to think that they _meant_ something to him? But what had _really_ pointed to a shift in Jumin’s relationship with his father had been the fact that she’d heard from Jaehee that Jumin had moved into his _own_ penthouse a short distance away from where his father now lived alone. Jaehee had been privy to the information because in the past year a fundraising organization-set up a couple of months after her own event-had been established and Jaehee had joined it. 

V and Rika had been its founders and MC had wondered too if Jumin had whispered into their ears and helped to establish Rika’s Fundraising Association, the RFA for short, or had she been over thinking the thing? Whatever the case he had joined too and had actually asked _her_ to become a member. It had been the only time that she’d actually spoken to him in the past year [although she had slipped a note into his locker after his generous donations before.] 

_“MC?”_ he’d appeared in front of her one day in one of the school’s hallways and her heart had both been excited and petrified by his presence and the gentle smile, which had graced his face and seemingly been just for her even in the packed environment. She’d worked out that it was indeed _love_ that she felt for him. That it had not been something that she’d misunderstood on that dreadful night and unfortunately the keen way that she’d gone on to miss him, but been too sad and fearful of her family’s reaction to end such a drought, had notified her of the thing all the more. She hadn’t been able to know back then that not _only_ had he not been able to give up on her because it would have been the wrong thing to do, but because of all she’d given him through having shown him that as wonderful as Elizabeth the 3rd is she is unable to communicate to him like MC had done and respond to him in the way that he truly needs her to. That in turn has led him to feel intrigued by her. “I'm sorry if I frightened you,” his features had softened at that point and it had been _his_ time to both look and sound sad. Her heart had gone thud-thud-thud inside her chest. “And for blocking you,” he’d murmured, “It wouldn’t _usually_ be in my nature to block a lady.” He’d charmingly smiled at her then and had drawn himself up a little.

“Jumin, _please…”_ she’d looked around herself a little nervously at that point. She hadn’t known _how_ to cope with his undivided attention suddenly, _nor_ the way that he had put himself at so much at risk by giving it to her and he’d surely _known_ such a thing? _‘Please just say what you want, so that I can go,’_ she’d thought to herself, before she’d felt ashamed of the thing. It had been terrible to feel that way during the first time that they’d spoken to one another in such a long time and that their conversation had to be so rushed when there were so many things that she’d wanted to tell him-like how much his donations had both surprised and touched her because she’d doubted how well her fundraising event had gone before then and had been frustrated that she hadn’t been able to raise money for the suicide prevention clinic like she’d wanted to. She’d wanted to ask him about his father and himself and how they’d been and apologize for them being unable to attend her mother’s funeral. She’d wanted to say how she’d _wished_ that she’d pushed the point more with her family, but she hadn’t _dared_ to and everything had been hard enough as it was and so eventually she’d given up on the idea. She’d wanted to tell him how she’d _missed_ their conversations and Elizabeth the 3rd. How she had missed _him!_ Yet none of those words had been able to leave her lips right at that moment because she’d been terrified that if any of them _had_ done then she would have not been able to stop until every little bit of feeling inside her had been completely out and that would be putting him at risk for postponing the point when he’d be able to leave her. Her father and brother hadn’t needed _spies_ after all because there were enough people who were interested in who was speaking to Jumin Han at every hour of every day. 

“All right. I shall not keep you too long.” He’d looked disappointed by her reaction to him and that had made her wonder if he’d missed _her_ too, before she’d felt all the worse if that _had_ been the case. Why _couldn't_ they have just helped each other through it all? Why had things _had_ to be so complicated? Who was it _really_ benefiting in the end? “I only wanted to tell you that two of my friends have started a fundraising organization and I thought that since you’ve held your _own_ event then you might be interested in it?” He’d looked at her hopefully at that point. 

“I'm sorry, but I don’t have time for that. I'm _far_ too busy with all my studying.” It had hurt her to throw the words that he’d used on the day when they’d first met back at him and she’d ducked her head and had brushed softly past him, before he’d been able to see the tears that had pricked at her eyes and _before_ she had been able to tell him _too_ much. Like how her father had been so unhappy about her first fundraising event. How he’d resented the fact that she’d seemed _‘keen’_ in his words to bring up that dreadful time again, thought that it was improper of her to do so and that people might think that she was aligning herself with her mother and not the members of her family that are still there and he’d finally asked her if she enjoyed torturing him? He made her out to be just as bad as her mother. She’d tried to explain as calmly as she’d been able to, to him that she hadn’t wanted to upset him, but had just wanted to feel as if something _good_ had been able to come out of her mother’s death. He’d tutted and she’d felt all the more pressure to do well. To cap it all off though her Math had gone down during the time that she’d planned the event and her father had demanded that she attend a Hagwon to improve it. If it hadn’t been for those facts then she would have _loved_ to have joined the RFA. If she had been clever and fine and her family had not _hated_ Jumin’s so fiercely then she could not have imagined anything _better_ than being in the same organization as him and getting to see him on a more regular basis, whilst _actually_ being able to contribute to society more -because that was the thing when she’d held her own fundraising event: it had made her feel _good._ It had given her a buzz and one that she would have liked to continue if she’d been able to. 

So when Jaehee had been asked by Jumin to join the RFA she _had_ been a little bit jealous of her friend at first-just like she was a bit of Rika who she’d _known_ had been close to Jumin and who _always_ seemed so radiant and like she had no problems at all in her life-but she had been happy for Jaehee too because she’d known that it would be good for her. Jaehee had been there for her a lot since her mother had died and was one of the few people to know about the suicide. She’d been shocked initially when MC had told her the thing because she’d just _had_ to tell someone about it and even though Jumin had _known_ she hadn’t been able to lean on him, but then Jaehee had supported her friend fully and had even done some research into how a lot of deaths in South Korea were due to suicide and that MC’s mother was not in isolation in an attempt to make her feel like she _really_ hadn’t been alone-it had been that out of everything that had made MC want to raise money for the suicide prevention clinic. Perhaps Jaehee had felt the need to stand so stoically by her side because she’d felt it would repay the fact that MC had looked out for _her_ and been a supportive presence when she’d first moved in with her aunt and uncle and been going through her _own_ losses. Or maybe she was just a good friend. Whatever the case though Jaehee had brought her, her favourite coffee, looked at MC in a way that had told her that she would always be there for her and had allowed MC to talk to her whenever a trickle of her real feelings had been able to pour out from beneath her skin. Jaehee had always worked too hard too, so if she could gain some happiness and more of a social life-though joining the RFA _would_ be good for college, which was her friend’s _main_ reason for accepting she’d known-then MC was all for the thing and her joining it. 

Jaehee had caught on pretty quickly though that the _‘real’_ reason why she’d been asked to join the RFA was not because, “I seemed like a ‘diligent’ person in the way that Jumin told me I was or that I must be if I was held in high-esteem by you, _although,_ it’s true that if they want to hold the events they do then they must need more people like that,” Jaehee had gone off on a bit of a tangent and MC had forced herself to look innocent on the matter even though her heart had beaten more quickly, as it always did whenever Jumin was mentioned or in the vicinity. “It’s obvious that he wanted me to join because I am _your_ friend and he ultimately wants _you_ to be part of the RFA.” 

“I-I don’t think,” MC had spluttered, as she’d tried to control the blush on her cheeks. 

Jaehee had looked at her pretty sceptically. “After he’d asked me to join, or more like when he’d been done _charming_ me into the thing”-MC had swallowed at that point and had tried not to picture Jumin’s persuasive face in her mind, but had failed spectacularly-“He said that I should also put in a good word about the RFA to _anyone_ who I thought could be trusted and was as diligent as me. _Now,_ who do you _suppose_ he was talking about?” 

“That’s probably what they _all_ have to say in order to get more people to join. They’re fairly new after all.” MC’s stomach had squirmed slightly. 

Jaehee however had shaken her head. “They might be new, but I think they want to keep an air of exclusivity about the club and just keep it down to a few people that they feel they can trust.” As she’d felt a little bit awkward MC had pushed some books into her locker. Jaehee had leaned against her own. Vague conversations of MC’s text talk with Jumin had come back to her-she’d been sad that she hadn’t been able to look back over them since her father had deleted all of their messages-as well as the gentle imploring look that Jumin had worn on his face when he’d tried to invite her himself, that had been followed quickly by disappointment. MC had felt the stab of it all in her chest again. She’d shut her locker slowly. Jaehee had looked across to the lockers that were on the other side of the hallway contemplatively. “He _knows_ that we’re best friends, and he gave me this really big look, as if he was _trying_ to be all meaningful and make me understand. Like he was _trying_ to send me a telepathic message or something. It’s not that I _mind,”_ she’d added that last part, as MC had wondered if Jumin had been looking at his book on dark magic again. He’d been reading it once when MC had gone around to the penthouse in what had seemed like forever ago. “Whatever reason I was asked to join,” Jaehee had gone on with a bit of a sigh in her tone, “It is nice to see Zen, even though I think I prefer Zen the actor to Zen the person in real life. He smokes, drinks and uses poor language. He sometimes shoplifts from stores too so I’ve heard, which I don’t approve of and don’t know _how_ he even has _time_ for when apparently he does two jobs in between all his theatre stuff and school too.” She’d let out another sigh, which had been tinged with a reluctant sort of admiration and it hadn’t been a surprise to MC when she’d continued, “Zen the actor is focused and dedicated and can make _any_ role his own…” MC had also suspected that Jaehee had been put off Zen the _‘real’_ person by his more insistent fans who had hounded her just because she’d been spotted talking to Zen one day. MC had told them that Jaehee does judo and that she wouldn’t be a pushover. That had deterred them a bit, but then she’d noticed that Jumin had been in the background and listening in. She’d flushed and had hurried in the opposite direction. She feels guilty whenever she remembers this memory because she had _not_ gone on defending her friend; she had just let everything overcome her and fled. She had heard the girls laughing and Jaehee had been a bit confused about the situation too, but she’d seemed to assume that it was just awkward for MC to see Jumin staring at her like that because of what had happened to MC’s mother before. She’d been grateful though that MC had defended her _that_ much in the circumstances when she could have just let it go because it had affected her friend and not her. [‘Of _course_ I had to. It’s you,’ MC had retorted without hesitation.] “You’re remembering it too aren't you?” Still by her locker Jaehee had looked at her friend. “When you said what you did to those girls Jumin was staring at you and he wouldn’t stop. It was hard to tell what he was feeling, but I think that it might have been pride.”

_“Jaehee,”_ MC had warned her at that point, as she’d gotten a headache from it all. She’d spun around and had leaned her hands against her shut locker. She’d bounced her fingers off it. The metal had shuddered in response beneath her. MC had wished the bell would ring, but it had seemed like a few minutes off at that point. Lunch break had taken _forever_ to end that day. 

Right at that moment, and with perfect timing, Jumin had rounded the corner. His eyes had fixed on them and MC in particular. As he’d continued a trail of girls, like debris, had been revealed to be behind him. They’d wailed and laughed, as they’d had fun amongst themselves and had tried to catch his attention at the same time. MC had not been _fooled_ by their supposed camaraderie though-she’d sensed that had he paid any one of them any kind of particular attention then the rest of them would have gotten their claws out and dug into that one individual at once. Jumin had ignored his followers and kept his eyes on MC instead however. MC’s heart had skipped a beat at the way that his naturally messy hair had swayed like a tree in the wind and his eyes had connected with her own like they’d sent their own private message across the Cloud. There had been something so _meaningful_ about him. MC had received his message. It had been a plea. A plea for her to take what Jumin considered would be a step forward out of her shadow of grief by joining the RFA. He’d been _trying_ to coax her. Maybe for her own good. Maybe because he’d _wanted_ to be close to her again because it hadn’t been the _same,_ at least for her, since they hadn’t been talking, and she’d _hoped,_ just part of her had _hoped_ that maybe it had been the same for him too. He’d given her a bit of a tight smile and had grimaced at the crowd of followers that had been behind him. Then he’d been gone, and the sound that had seemed to dim and fade as he’d passed and they’d had that one moment of connection had exploded. She’d shaken her head a little to get herself out of it. 

Jaehee had tilted her head and had looked at her friend concernedly. “I don’t mean to pry MC, and you don’t have to tell me, but did something _happen_ between Jumin and you when you used to go and visit your mother? You _did_ seem a little bit happier around that time. I thought it was just because”-

“I got to see my mother?”

_“Right,”_ Jaehee agrees, “And that things were working out perhaps better than you anticipated they would after the separation.” 

“It _was_ for all those reasons, but Jumin and I…we began to spend more time together and text one another when we got more comfortable and though I didn't _realize_ it until the night my mother died I guess it sort of occurred to me that maybe I”- 

“Oh _MC!”_ Jaehee’s eyes had grown bright at that point and she’d put her fingers to her lips, as she’d guessed what her friend had been about to tell her-they know each other well enough after all. “But… _Jumin Han?_ I always thought that his only lover would be his cat.” MC had laughed even though Jaehee had scrunched her face up then, as if it would never have occurred to her to even _think_ that way about Jumin herself. 

“Nothing happened.” MC had tried not to flush. 

“But you wanted it to?” Jaehee had lowered her hand. “That was what you were about to say, _wasn’t_ it? That you _realized_ the night that your mother died- _oh,_ I am sorry MC. What a thing to realize, that night of all nights,” she’d gone on then. She hadn’t seemed able to picture it. 

_“Yeah…”_ MC had stared glumly at the lockers across the hallway. She’d tried to fix her gaze on them in between all the people that had passed by, oblivious to the struggle and torment that had gone on in her mind in that moment. If they’d wanted to witness a second of teenage angst then they could have stopped and gawked at it right in that moment. Jumin could have even sold tickets to them. It would have been the most profitable business that C & R had ever been involved in. “I realized I was in love with him.” It had felt strange to _actually_ say it out loud and in _more_ than a whisper to her pillow at night. Jaehee had looked at her sympathetically. _“But,_ whatever I feel, or he might even, which is probably impossible, but anyway,” MC had gone on hurriedly, “It doesn’t matter. We _won’t_ be able to be together. Not ever.” It had pained her to admit it, but she’d steeled herself with the fact that it had been true, that it was _futile_ to deny it. 

“Because of what happened with your mother?” Jaehee had guessed, before she’d urged her, “You mustn't let _that_ create such a big division between you, not if you really feel the way you do. I understand that it must be awkward for you, _but”-_

“I would have liked it if we could have carried on in much the same way,” MC had confessed, “But I-I had to create even more distance than I would have liked between us because my father and brother both suspect, I think, that I like him in that way and they hate his family so much. They even warned me off him”-

“Oh, _MC”-_

“My father…he deleted all our texts and Jumin’s number, every _trace_ of every conversation we’d ever had…he made them all disappear just like they’d never even existed in the first place, just like he did with Mother.” Tears had skimmed her eyes like a stone at the memory. Jaehee, who had been told about her father’s attempts to blot out MC’s mother’s presence in the apartment before had looked at her friend sympathetically. 

“Why didn't you _tell_ me any of this?” Jaehee had been anxious. 

_‘Because I was trying to stop myself from wanting him,’_ in the present MC mouths the words that she’d told Jaehee, before she makes a little gurgle and starts, checking that no one in the library had noticed her melancholy moment of longing. She’s not sure if she’d be _able_ to live it down if they had, but thankfully the people who are still able to concentrate on their studying are doing so and everyone else’s attention seems to be focused on the noise that’s coming from a door that leads into a room of private study. MC can see the door from the table where she’s sat around and she wonders what’s going on inside the room. She knows that Jaehee is in it with all the other RFA members, and Jumin of course, but they are not usually _that_ loud. In fact recently they've been more solemn and quiet because Rika has been off school for three months. MC hasn’t seen her about the place since the night that Rika’s little dog, Sally, had gotten hit by a car. She remembers the night well. Jaehee and she had just finished their period of self-study and they’d made their way tiredly outside the school building. She’d been about to leave Jaehee for her Hagwon. Jaehee had been about to pop across to the library and then go home. A few other people had walked outside too, most notably Rika, V [there had been no sign of Jumin there thank God] and a younger looking boy with choppy brown hair, who had trailed after them and who MC had thought Jaehee had told her was Rika’s cousin once-not by blood because Rika was adopted. Jaehee and MC had broken off of their farewells and best wishes to one another to simultaneously coo and watch as a small dog with a wagging tail had sniffed its way up to Rika, who had seemed to be thrilled by the dog’s presence. The dog had loped about them the best it had been able to, but when they had all started to walk again, the dog, not paying any attention had stumbled and fallen into the road. It had seemed a little disorientated and confused. V had looked, as if he might try and pick the creature up, but all of a sudden there had come a roar of sound. MC and Jaehee had watched with a transfixed kind of horror and their heartbeats had increased as a car had come from nowhere, its lights blaring, but the driver not easing off the throttle at all. There had come an inevitable crunch, a squeal, the sound of the throttle being urged on even more as the car had sped away and then a scream, which had shattered all of their eardrums. Piercing and with a hint of melody about it, MC had never heard anything quite like it before. V and the young boy had tried to calm Rika down at that point, but she had been inconsolable and that had been the last thing that MC remembers about her. Jaehee had told her not to tell anyone, but apparently Rika had fallen deep into a mental health crisis not long after. She hadn’t gotten the dog the treatment it had needed before the accident, as she hadn’t realized how necessary it had been for her and the incident seemed to have woken her up and made her think that she had been a terrible owner and friend to dear Sally. No one aside from V had ever noticed how vulnerable her moods had been before all that because she’d been able to hide it so well. [‘Not that _I_ would have noticed in any case because we weren’t particularly close, but I did admire her. She always seemed so strong and to have it all together.’ MC had agreed with her point, but Jaehee’s words had got her wondering about Jumin and how such a thing might have affected _him._ She’d known that on the outside he’d looked no different to her. There had been no red eyes or signs of stress. His hair hadn’t appeared messier like he’d raked his hands through it. His clothes not untidy as if they had been agitatedly tweaked. Yet on the inside she’d thought that things might have been a different story. He had seemed pretty close to Rika after all. Since then the RFA have held no parties, and though MC _knows_ that they've made a last-minute decision to hold one soon to honour all those who are graduating, she finds it a bit of a shame that it had taken _this_ long for them to get going again. She’d read with great interest the details of the first two parties in the student newspaper and had listened to the snippets that had been passed onto her by Jaehee. The parties had sounded very successful and interesting. The first one had been based around the arts and the other around the sciences and Math. People from businesses and universities in those fields had been invited and encouraged to make links with students who were excelling and the best of the best. Only the top few students were ever invited, though MC had been invited to _both_ when she was not in fact a standout student in _either_ field and she’d put it down to Jumin again and the fact that he’d been trying to tempt her to join the RFA. The graduation party was _supposed_ to be a meeting of the two with some returning guests Jaehee had told her, despite the fact that MC had said that she didn’t have to keep saying what was going on in the RFA [secretly she’d hoped that Jaehee would never stop. She felt sometimes like she _lived_ her life through her best friend.] It would be easier to do it in that sort of combination what with the lateness of things. There are only eleven days until graduation now and the party had only been decided in the past week, as there had been some disagreements and debate between the RFA members as to whether it should go ahead and whether it was a plausible option or not in the first place. MC wonders if that is the cause of this in fighting that she can now hear?

MC shifts uncomfortably and tries to go back to her reading. The words blur a little in front of her, even in the harsh light. MC blinks her dry eyes that are badly in need of a rest and sighs. The voices they can all hear seem to be getting louder. She looks up. Quite a few people are distracted and are looking towards the door. The teacher who is supposed to be observing them is nowhere in sight and has probably wandered off to get a coffee from the vending machine near by in the hopes of staying awake. MC looks down and then up again, hesitating a moment. She stands, pushing herself up with her hands and taking a bit of a breath that’s both shaky and then steadying as she does so. People’s attention goes to her. It might not sound good coming from anyone else, but since _she_ sort of knows two of the RFA members and is a bit more aware than most people of what’s going on behind those doors then maybe asking them to be a bit quieter will sound _better_ coming from her? She swallows and walks deliberately to the room, as if she is meant to do so, and then she closes the door behind her. 

It is a peculiar sight that meets MC’s eyes. There are three rows of desks in the room with a gap down the middle of them. Posters on the walls are to do with various subjects and some also serve as a reminder to people that they should not eat or drink, whilst they are present in the room. The RFA are scattered about the space. Jaehee is closest to the furthest row from the door and looks a little anxious, as she stands at the edge of the aisle in between the desks. Her bag is tucked neatly to the side of the chair that she has so evidently abandoned-it is skewed to one side-and her notepaper and pen have also been left behind. From this distance though MC cannot see if she’d had a chance to write anything down about that day’s meeting. Zen is a little in front of her, looking on edge-MC recognizes him because for one thing he is in her _year,_ so she shares a fair few classes with him and for another if she _really_ didn't after all the photos and clips that Jaehee has shown of him to her then she’d be worried about her memory. His silver hair is swept carefully over one shoulder and he has on a long white coat that has an embroidered patch on its chest with a, _‘Z,’_ on it over his school uniform. V is closer still and looking like he might intervene on the main scene, which is where MC’s eyes can’t help but go to. The boy that MC is sure is Rika’s cousin and who now sports blond hair is standing half-bent over where Jumin is sitting on the edge of the second row on the left-hand side. The blond boy is pointing angrily at Jumin, invading his personal space, which MC is sure that Jumin must hate. The blond boy’s violet eyes are ablaze with a heated sort of anger. Jumin though, no matter _what_ might be going on in his head internally, shows an outward cool disinterest in the ferocity that is being directed at him, which only seems to make the blond boy all the angrier. MC had never _thought_ that all the ill feeling in the room would be aimed at _him_ for some reason. She supposes now that it might be because she’s so _used_ to seeing people around the school sucking up to him and it’s weird to see the other side or that there can even _be_ another side to it all. In contrast to this a boy sitting on the far right and closer to the door where she is _might_ be keeping _half_ a gold eye on them in a bird-like way, but on another he is blatantly flouting the rules of the room by eating Honey Buddha Chips and with a can of Ph. D. Pepper by his side. It looks odd when there is a crucifix around his neck in a prominent place over his school uniform. The fragments of the scene do not seem to fit together, as if she has just fitted a jigsaw puzzle wrong. His bag is also on the desk and his vermilion-coloured hair brushes against pale skin and touches down onto stripy horn-rimmed glasses, as his fingers fly across his phone. He chuckles to himself now and seems to be in a world of his own. At the sound of her entering however he looks up, as does everyone else in the room. He lets out a soft breath. 

MC is caught by the ripple that echoes across Jumin’s grey eyes for a moment, before she catches the blond boy startling, _“Uh!_ Who are you and what on earth are you doing here?!” He withdraws his finger from Jumin’s face at once and straightens, taken aback by the newcomer. 

The vermilion-haired boy meanwhile pulls his possessions closer to him and looks suspiciously at her. 

_“Um…”_ MC’s eyes hover against Jumin’s for a moment and she instantly changes her mind. “This was obviously a mistake. Please carry on. I’ll just”- she whirls around now, intending to leave the room. 

_“Wait,”_ comes the soft and imploring voice of Jumin just as her fingers touch onto the door handle. They grasp and press down on it for a moment, before they release it again. She turns slowly around and meets Jumin’s eyes. She can sense everyone watching and just like them she feels as if she is holding her breath and suddenly underwater. 

Jumin opens his mouth, but Jaehee gets there first, _“MC?_ Is there something the matter?” She moves around the edge of the desk now and properly steps into the aisle, looking at her friend concernedly. MC has never disrupted a meeting before and has _always_ tried to put some distance in between herself and the RFA, so Jaehee cannot _imagine_ where this sudden disruption has come from and what might be behind the thing. She only knows that it feels like something is wrong. 

“You must tell me if there is.” There is a scraping of a chair as Jumin gets up. 

“Did the trust fund kid just put someone before himself?” Zen mutters in shock now. Jumin shoots him a bit of a glare. 

“Is the _world_ ending?” the blond haired boy asks with wide stunned eyes. 

Weeds sprout in MC’s mind and she feels confused by their words, as ever since he’s known her more properly Jumin has _always_ been very kind to her and she can’t imagine that it is all too different with the RFA members, so why are they acting like he doesn’t care about anyone? She’s distracted, however, when Jumin brushes past the blond boy harshly in the next second and makes his way over to her. His hands go to the sides of her shoulders at once and she swallows, both at the action and how his sandalwood scent enfolds itself around her, making her feel both dazed and safe. She can hear the others letting out a bit of a gasp and Zen saying something about how Jumin shouldn't be touching a girl in that way, but all she can focus on is Jumin’s hands and how they are _radiating_ heat that she wants to sink into. _“Jumin…”_ the name tastes so sweet yet poisonous upon her lips. “Everyone is watching us,” she finally protests, feeling embarrassed. He lets go of her with a small frown upon his face, as if the others are not a priority for him in that moment and as if he would have preferred to keep holding onto her-indeed his body would have liked to do such a thing very much. She calms _him_ as much as he calms her, but she also worries him incessantly. She turns her head away to the side now. “I only came in here because it was starting to get loud. No one could concentrate outside.” 

“Is that so? Then I am very sorry for such a thing,” he says to her, though he does not sound at all apologetic. “Let me introduce you, whilst you are here in that case.” He swivels around now and gently presses a hand to her back to encourage her to take a step forward. She does so falteringly, but Jumin does not let go of her, not _this_ time. 

“What’s going on?” the blond boy asks. 

V looks more knowing, and as if he has a better idea, whilst he stares at the scene.

“This is MC.” Jumin ignores the blond boy. “You know Jaehee of course,” he speaks directly to MC now, whilst he nods at Jaehee. MC smiles awkwardly at her friend. She feels _sure_ that she must be red and that Jaehee will know _why_ she is such a thing, but her friend just smiles reassuringly at her all the same, shining her warmth towards her. “That there is Zen”- Jumin tosses his head towards the boy. 

“You say that as if I'm a statue or something. I _know_ my looks should be enshrined in marble forever, but sheesh, don’t make me sound like _you_ trust fund kid. I'm a real person,” Zen is indignant. 

“He is somewhat arrogant,” Jumin goes on distastefully, but MC releases a slither of a giggle at the way that he’d said such a thing and it makes him smile, albeit faintly. Feeling encouraged he goes on, “I have spoken to you briefly about V before”-the others with the exception of V look surprised by the thing, V however just looks almost resigned to the fact-“He got more into art recently, but after what happened to Rika he seems to have lost his way again. I hope he will stop treating it as just a hobby soon.” 

V looks sheepish and a little embarrassed at that. “He likes to lecture me…” he half-explains to her.

“I can see that,” MC’s lip twitches up, whilst the blond boy in particular continues to look curious about her. 

“It is good to have you with us MC,” V says, managing to look compassionate once he has gotten over Jumin’s words. Then, as if he has had a sudden idea, he adds, “Jumin here has not told me much about you, but I can gather just _how_ high he holds you in his regard from what he _has_ said.” 

“Jumin has spoken about MC before?” the blond boy wonders. 

_“V,”_ Jumin is embarrassed. A pink flush lights up the top of his cheekbones and his hand jumps down from MC’s back and flexes, before it returns to its original position. He can’t keep his hand off her. 

V’s turquoise eyes just twinkle merrily though, as if a point has been proved. “Perhaps I have said too much?” he says innocently, but everyone can _tell_ from the suppressed grin that he has on his face that he’s rather enjoying himself. He _knows_ what Jumin's feelings for MC are now.

“You have been a little careless with the private things in our friendship.” Jumin glances at him now. 

“If you believe that then I am sorry.” V bows his head and looks more solemn again. 

Jumin returns the gesture, the heat evaporating on his face slightly, before he turns his attention to the boy in the front of the class who is now munching on his chips with a vigorous passion, almost as if he has not eaten anything at all in days. “That boy there, we call him Seven or 707. I also call him a cat abuser because of the way that he treats Elizabeth the 3rd.”

“I have my _own_ form of love,” Seven winks at MC now, before he tilts his head and stares at her with inquisitive eyes. _“Huh._ I'm sure that I’ve seen you somewhere before?” MC presses back a little against Jumin’s firm grasp and feels suddenly nervous.

“You inhabit the same school as one another. I would expect that you have seen her about the place,” Jumin is protectively dismissive regarding Seven’s question. His hand slides to MC’s shoulder, pulling her close to his side and MC’s face feels like warm flames are fanning it. She tries to ignore the way that Jumin is pressed intoxicatingly close to her and also tries to not look at anyone all that much, thinking that they will surely know her feelings if she does so. Her hands fidget a little together and she is almost holding her breath. 

Seven shakes his head and half-wipes away some crumbs on his trousers, before he starts tapping more fervently on his phone. “What did you say your last name was?”

“She didn't,” Jumin rebukes him curtly now. 

Seven just blinks at the boy who is _always_ telling him to not go anywhere near his precious Elizabeth the 3rd and feels as if he has just been told the same thing even though the subject is different. “I feel like I’ve seen her _more_ than just what you say I have though…” he mutters almost underneath his breath, before Jumin grudgingly tells him MC’s surname anyway.

MC lets out a squeak of nerves. She _knows_ that it won’t be long, before he finds out the truth. Then she won’t be someone who just walked into the room and broke up whatever looked like it had been starting between Jumin and that boy, but she’ll be the daughter of one of Chairman Han’s conquests and the person whose mother died in the Chairman’s penthouse. 

Jumin runs his hand down reassuringly to her waist, stroking her as if she is a cat and she shivers. “Trust me,” he murmurs, just loud enough for her to hear him. She looks at him and jumps a fraction when she realizes just how close to one another they are. She stares into his eyes that swirl a darker grey like concrete around his pupil. They are tinged with green the further out she goes like the shoots of nature her mother had loved so much. “These people are all ones that you can trust. You will not be-what is it that I’ve heard people say before?” He thinks for a moment about the thing, his eyelashes swooping down, before they lift up again. _“Yes,”_ he smiles and her stomach bubbles with something, “Thrown into the lion’s den, not whilst _I'm_ around.” 

She smiles a little at that and his fingers tighten around her. “How is Elizabeth the 3rd?” 

“Missing the way that you used to play with her I think. You were always so gentle with her and _much_ more considerate than Seven is,” his voice rises, so that all of the others can hear that last part of his words in particular. 

“You know Elly?” Seven’s head jerks up from his phone. 

“You know Elizabeth the 3rd? Jumin’s precious cat? The one that none of us have seen aside from in photos other than Seven because he breaks into Jumin’s penthouse”- the blond boy blabbers. 

“The security isn’t as tight, as it was before,” Seven chips in now and he sounds happy about the thing. He is still tapping away on his phone though and that makes MC feel uneasy. 

“That can _easily_ be changed,” Jumin mutters. MC can’t help but giggle at that and Jumin rubs a pattern into her waist again. “The one who asks all the questions,” he nods at the blond boy now, “Is Yoosung.” He turns his head to her and whispers; “You may know him as Rika’s cousin.” MC nods and tries to keep her expression neutral despite the fact that she is quite taken with the way that Jumin’s breath is managing to tickle against her ear. She turns her head to look at him. His rubbing motions stop, as if he senses that something has changed. He looks into her eyes intently now, as if he’s trying to pick up on any signs as to how he should proceed. Her eyes can’t help it-she forgets herself, her situation and her family for a moment. Forgets that she can’t have it all. She looks down at his lips. His eyes are like molten when she finally looks back up at him, though there is a little fear there too _yet-_

_“Ah,_ that is how you know one another, your mother used to date Chairman Han,” comes Seven’s excited voice. MC’s body sags a little. Jumin frowns and looks at her concernedly, tightening his grip on her. 

“Your mother went out with Chairman Han?!” Yoosung says in awe, not seemingly seeing the effect that its had on MC. “So Jumin and you are like step-siblings?”

Zen looks disgusted by the idea of _anyone_ having to be a step-sibling to Jumin Han. 

“No, they never married.” Jumin clears his throat now, though he does take a sideways step away from MC and clears some invisible lint from his cuffs. 

MC feels suddenly lost without his warmth and a little hurt and confused at the same time, as if he’d _chosen_ to move away in the exact moment that she had needed him. She looks across at him. He lowers his hands and her own tingle for his. He gazes tentatively in her direction, not looking away for a long time when their eyes meet until finally he wrenches his stare away. 

“But you _could_ have been,” Yoosung says, determined to make his theory work and MC senses now that he doesn’t like _anyone_ looking down on him. 

“There were _rumours_ of them getting married,” Seven confides in a low and mysterious tone, as if this isn’t public knowledge already, “But then”-

“MC’s mother died of heart failure,” Jaehee interrupts, stepping forwards and looking at MC concernedly. MC tries to give her a reassuring smile, thankful for her friend’s intervention. Even though the cause she has stated is a fake one she is glad that _Jaehee_ had chosen to say it rather than leaving it up to her. 

“Oh, I'm so sorry MC,” Yoosung looks at her a little worriedly now, “I didn't _mean_ to pry”-

_“Nonetheless,”_ Jumin begins like a father telling their son off for being rude to their mother, “That is _exactly_ what you have just done.” Yoosung’s face grows cold in that moment and angry, as if a blind has just been drawn down upon it. 

“Maybe I wouldn’t have _needed_ to get so distracted by MC if _you_ hadn’t gotten me mad before.” Yoosung’s fists clench now, as he looks determinedly at Jumin. 

“He has a point,” Zen offers, swiping a stray piece of hair away from his face. 

Jumin gives them _both_ a dark look, but then-

“Oh yeah, that’s right. What were the two of you arguing about?” MC recalls how she’d found them when she’d walked in. 

“Nothing for you to worry about,” Jumin half-reaches his hand out in front of her, as if it is a subject that she should back away from. 

“Well, it’s a topic that _I’ll_ have to worry about,” Yoosung protests now, “You haven’t given _me_ any choice in the matter,” he goes on.

“You are being childish”-

No I'm not. Why don’t you _want_ MC to know about it? What have you got to hide from her?” Yoosung is like a little yapping dog that doesn’t know how to be quiet. 

_“Yoosung,”_ this time it is _V_ who croons a warning, as he begs his friend to be more peaceful. MC senses that he hates arguments and wishes that things could calm down herself in that moment. 

“No V,” Jumin’s hand rises and he shakes his head a little. “I have got nothing to hide from MC”-the others, with the exception of V, look a little amazed by that now-“It is all right.” Jumin turns to MC. “Maybe once you hear about it you can tell us what you think on the matter?” It makes sense to V how Jumin would like her opinion on the thing because he often wants the same thing from Rika and would like her sometimes to be able to reassure him as he much as he tries to reassure her. “That is of course…unless you have some place that you need to go to?” Jumin looks at her almost desperately now, wanting her to hear him out and she shakes her head much to V’s relief who doesn’t know _how_ his friend would have reacted had she chosen to back out in that moment. “Very well.” Again Jumin’s hands flex towards hers. 

“He phoned my mother! Without even giving me a warning or letting me know about it!” Yoosung cuts to the chase. “Who _does_ that?”

“It was for your own good,” Jumin murmurs, looking irritated that the boy has robbed him of his opportunity to tell MC about the matter himself, but under control about it. As ever his true emotions simmer just beneath the surface. 

_“How?”_ Yoosung scoffs. Would you like it if he phoned _your_ mother?” He looks at MC. 

“She doesn’t _have_ a mother,” the point comes quietly, but fervently from Seven. 

_“Still,”_ Yoosung looks at MC beseechingly now, as if hoping that she’ll forgive his previously clumsy words, “Would you like it if _he_ went behind your back like that and called your father then?” 

MC and Jumin exchange a bit of a significant look that is lost on everyone aside from Jaehee. “No,” MC wrenches her eyes away from Jumin, “I would _not_ like it if he did such a thing.”

_“See?”_ Yoosung says pointedly to Jumin now. 

_“But,”_ MC gets in, before the blond boy can start to gloat too much or claim victory too soon, “I _would_ be interested in hearing your opinion on _why_ you thought it would be best for Yoosung?” She looks back at Jumin, arching her brow. 

Jumin swallows at that point, grateful for the opportunity to say his piece to her, but wanting to get it right all the same and V can feel the weight of the moment. After all Jumin is in love with MC, and though he doesn’t _believe_ that his friend knows this himself yet he feels sure that there is something in Jumin’s gut instinct telling him how important it is. _“Well,”_ Jumin looks around at them all with folded arms, before his gaze finally settles back on MC heavily, “Ever since Rika got ill and has been off from school,” he looks apologetically at V for bringing the subject up again, but V just bows his head at him and gives him permission to go on, “Yoosung has been getting further and further behind in his studies. I _know_ it has hit us all hard, but he has taken it to the extreme I think. All he does is ask after her, worry and want to visit her.” MC’s heart goes out to Jumin in that moment.

“Of _course_ I'm worried about her! I know my aunt and uncle don’t seem to care, but _I_ do and you should have told me about any problems she was having! Maybe I could have helped? And now I do know then of _course_ I want to. You shouldn't have judged me by _their_ standards.” He looks at V crossly. 

“Typical Jumin Han not being able to emphasize,” Zen however takes it out on the corporate heir. 

“I don’t get _why_ he won’t let me go and see her,” Yoosung looks at V pointedly. “All I want to do is _help.”_

“It’s the same for us all,” Seven marks out. 

“As I have said before,” V tells Yoosung calmly, “She is not up for receiving visitors.”

“But she can see _you_ over her own family?” Yoosung is accusing. “Like I said”-

“I am not judging you by _anyone’s_ standards Yoosung,” V says in between a breath now, “But I would like you to respect what I think is best.” 

Judging by the dark look that Yoosung sends V that is _not_ going to happen any time soon and MC feels a little twitchy by the argument. It brings back bad memories of her parents and everything unhappy that has happened since her mother left her for Chairman Han. 

“In any case,” Jumin returns to Yoosung’s original gripe, his voice rising ever so slightly as he casts MC a side-glance, seemingly _knowing_ the effect of what she sees is having on her. “I did it only to be a responsible friend and because I seem to understand what you do not Yoosung: you cannot _change_ anything about the present situation, so there is no point in worrying about it. We _all_ have to give Rika time and space to get better and trust what V, who is the only person who is seeing her out of all of us and so is the best judge, is saying about her”-

“But if I talked to her then maybe _that_ would help?” Yoosung suggests now. 

_“You_ or her?” Jumin asks him levelly and MC feels like she’s holding her breath. “If you cannot take responsibility and see such things for yourself,” Jumin huffs now, “Then others must take responsibility for you. You have been doing less studying. Your mother told me that she may try and nag you”-

“Yes, what _exactly_ did you two speak about? I want to know, before I go home.” Yoosung doesn’t seem to be any less angry with Jumin.

“But she said that she notices that you have been distracted and worried and that not much common sense is getting through to you at the moment,” Jumin goes on, as if Yoosung had not spoken. “You used to be a good student. I'm sure that when you _do_ finally get the chance to talk to Rika again”-here he half-glances at V, as if to say that he would _also_ like to see Rika at some point and does not see what good it will do her to be _more_ separated from her friends, but that he has a greater understanding than Yoosung does about the situation and knows that V often tries to do things all by himself-“It would please her greatly to know that you are on your way to getting into a good university when the time comes.” 

“How can I have the motivation to do that when I don’t even _know_ when I will see her again?” Yoosung protests. 

“By knowing that day _will_ come,” Jumin sounds certain now, “And that _Rika,_ who has always been very encouraging of your studies, will be disappointed if you’re _not_ showing progress, as will your mother a lot sooner if you don’t start being more pro-active about your future.” 

_“Urgh!”_ Yoosung looks annoyed. “My mother’s _never_ going to leave me alone if she knows that even my _friends_ are nagging me! She’ll probably go on about how responsible you are.” Jumin looks pleased in that moment and it makes MC smile. “You get how bad this is right?” Yoosung looks more desperately at MC now. “I can’t be the _only_ one who thinks that Jumin Han has officially gone crazy?” 

“I knew that years ago,” Zen is dismissive and brushes at his coat with a pale, clean hand. 

“You didn't even _know_ me years ago,” Jumin counters, unable to help but give a response and MC wishes that he wouldn’t. He’s just falling into Zen’s trap and making things all the worse that way. 

“It’s just instinct. Just like it’s instinct that you’ve got hair on your clothes from the fur ball right now, a-achoo!” Zen’s hand flutters up to his mouth to catch his sneeze. 

“You’ve been standing there this entire time without it effecting you. Are you _sure_ that you’ve got allergies Zen?” MC questions, forgetting what she’d wanted to try and limit, for she can’t help but feel a bit sceptical about Zen’s allergy suddenly flaring up and Jumin looks at her with both pride and amusement about his face. 

“Yeah I'm sure,” Zen is a little defensive now, “I’ve got allergies to that fur ball, _and_ her owner.” MC winces. She’d given Zen that opportunity herself she knows. Jumin gives her a bit of a side-glance, as if he’s aware of what she’d thought earlier and is now pointing out the fact that it is not so easy to just ignore what Zen says. 

“In any case,” Jaehee steps in efficiently, “Yoosung wanted our opinion? Then I'm sorry, but personally I think you’ve gone too far this time Jumin. That’s not to say that I don’t _think_ Yoosung should be more responsible, but like MC pointed out I don’t think _any_ of us would be greatly pleased if we got the same treatment you’ve given him. ” Jumin bows his head at her in acceptance. He feels a little calmer at the mention of MC, even _if,_ in this instance, they are not necessarily on the same side. 

“Yep, I agree,” Seven says, before he tosses a couple of chips casually into his mouth. 

Eyes drift to V whose hands rise as he seems to want to stay out of the thing and so everyone’s attention turns to MC instead. 

She can _feel_ the heat building on her face from all their stares, but tries to think about the situation calmly and logically despite the pressure for her to make a quick decision. She turns to the blond boy. “Before I say what I think, what were you like _before_ the incident with Rika, Yoosung?”

_“Before?”_ He touches his finger to his lip now, before it goes to run through his hair. It seems like no one had really ever asked him that question because they’d all already known how he was. “Before I was”-

“He used to study like I said. He was doing so well that I was even thinking of offering him an internship with the company,” Jumin interrupts him, clearly getting impatient with them all. 

“You _were?”_ Yoosung’s face lights up, before it becomes more guarded. _“Well,_ we’ll have to see about that I guess.” 

“It is on the table and it will stay there. Think of this moment as being my formal invite to you and use _that_ as motivation if you want.” His lips upturn as he doesn’t give Yoosung _any_ excuse. 

To get her mind off how attractive Jumin looks in that moment when he’s got more of a gentle, but determined smile upon his face and is trying to help a friend MC asks Yoosung more firmly, “What _else_ were you like though? I want to hear it from you.”

Yoosung looks grateful to her for the intervention, though he quickly admits, “I used to study hard-that’s right. My mother encouraged me to go volunteering with Rika on the weekends. I think she thought that she would be a good influence on me and she was. We went to volunteer at an old people’s home and I wasn’t really sure about it at first, but Rika made me see how I _could_ make a difference in someone’s life. She made me want to _help_ others. That is why I want to try and help her now. She deserves such a thing.” Once more he looks frustrated about not really being able to do anything. “And that’s how I got to know her I guess since we never really saw one another when we were little.”

“So she had a huge impact in your life and you miss her?” MC tries to both summarize and sympathize with him. 

_“Yeah…”_ Yoosung nods uncertainly. He looks as if he’s trying not to show how affected he is by the whole thing, but his eyes are wide and almost unblinking, as if he is frightened that they will become teary and his entire face looks pained. 

“You must also not be very much looking forward to gong home?” Jumin looks at MC quickly after she says such a thing, trying to worriedly assess whether they have _more_ than just a difference of opinion and whether she is blaming him or not. Her face remains unwaveringly turned away from him however.

“Yes.” Yoosung bows his head, before he gets angry all over again. “It is all Jumin’s fault! Why do _I_ have to get better in a set time period?”

“You are _showing_ more self-destructive behaviour than anyone,” Jumin mutters now, though he does look at V, as if he is hoping that his friend might gain some insight from what he has just said. 

“Yeah, _showing”-_

“Will the pair of you stop it? You have something in common after all,” MC gets in and everyone looks at her in shock. Even Jaehee and Jumin, who _both_ know that she does not like people arguing, are surprised by her forthright tone. _“Yoo-sung,”_ she lets out his name in a couple of breaths and looks at him levelly, “What you seem to be forgetting is that whilst you might disagree with your mother and how everyone else is acting right now Jumin _also_ has issues with his father”-

_“Issues?”_ Zen scoffs, as his dislike of Jumin allows him to be ungentlemanly for a moment. “They buy each other little gifts don’t they? And by _‘little’_ I mean things that cost”-

“That does not always mean that they agree and that is the point that I am making here,” MC chips in a little heatedly and Jumin looks at her. “As you might know Jumin does not like the way that his father gets into relationship after relationship”-

“I would give _anything_ for my dad to be a player and for that to be the _only_ problem in my life,” Yoosung groans.

MC feels more and more impatient with him.

_“MC,”_ Jumin both tries to warn and soothe her. She looks at him and he shakes his head a fraction. 

She does not want to give up on it however. “What if I accompany you home tonight Yoosung?” she asks the blond boy now and turns her attention back to him. Jumin looks as if the course of action that she has just suggested does not agree with him in the slightest and is ready to interrupt when MC goes on, “I won’t come in with you or anything of course”-something about Zen and Jumin both look relieved at that point-“But I might be able to help you come up with a plan for talking to your mother on our way there.” She senses now that it might be _easier_ to talk to him one-on-one and that her message might get through better that way and _without_ the opinions of the others flaring into play. “I also wouldn’t mind volunteering with you sometime if you wanted to start that up again? I could _do_ with something extra to put on my college applications after all and it might certainly help the situation with your mother more if she knew that you were willing to? You can get back on track pretty easily Yoosung, but it’s up to you. You have to take that first step.” 

Yoosung looks torn about the thing and she can tell from this that her words have managed to reach him. Jumin however protests, “MC has a kind heart, but she should _not_ be putting herself out like that.” 

“I don’t mind.” MC keeps her gaze on Yoosung. She’s sure that she’s getting to him and if she just waits a little bit longer- 

“You’d _really_ do that?” Yoosung’s eyes light up. 

“In that case, and if you need extra things to look good for college, then you should join the RFA.” Jumin looks at MC, as he tries to persuade her once more. 

“Oh, I was just”- MC splutters and Jaehee smirks a little. 

“I think that would be a good idea too,” V cuts in pleasantly. “We were meeting here to try and decide who we should ask anyway. Now we’re trying to do a party again we've had to admit to ourselves that we need the extra help.” He looks both a little forlorn and sheepish for a moment. “I might have been able to access the details of Rika’s guest information by finding them in her room”-Yoosung looks angry-“With _her_ permission of course,” V goes on more smoothly, “But we could _really_ do with someone to communicate with them and your timing is perfection.” There seems to be a hint of mischief playing about V’s face. His mouth is slightly open and his eyes are gleaming. “I _know_ Rika would be happy by the choice. With you having done a fundraising event before and having _shown_ a kind and generous heart it’s almost like all this is fate and meant to be.”

“Oh, I _really_ don’t know about that.” MC takes a step back now, but they only seem to loom closer and peer all the more curiously at her.

“If you would be helping Yoosung out anyway-?” Jumin looks at her a little levelly. “And if you _need_ things for college?” he asks.

“That was just to be _kind!”_ she protests, adding mentally in her head, _‘And to help you like you’ve helped me in the past.’_ For by talking to Yoosung hopefully she would inadvertently be doing Jumin a favour too. _“Well,_ as for college, I'm sure one thing would do. I don’t really have the time _to”-_

“Then make it the RFA,” Jumin urges her, “That would look more impressive overall because you’d have to help co-ordinate everything.” 

“I _really_ don’t think we should force her to join if she doesn’t want to.” Yoosung looks uncomfortable. Jumin glares at him. 

“Thank you Yoosung,” MC is grateful for the blond boy’s support. 

Jumin makes a noise of impatience. He moves, takes hold of MC’s arm and drags her off to one side with him, whilst Zen looks disdainful about the action and the others form a circle and chatter together. V stays slightly out of the circle, leaning against one of the desks and choosing to look over the heads of everyone else at Jumin and MC [apart from Jumin he is the tallest in the room.] Seven also seems more intent on finishing his chips than in taking part in the conversation all too much. 

“This might be good for you,” Jumin says to MC now, as he looks at her urgently. His hand goes to her shoulder. 

“And letting me go with Yoosung, put in a good word for you and hopefully getting him to see the sense in what you are saying, whilst _still_ supporting him might be good for _you,_ but you keep interrupting my plan just so that I can join the RFA.” She shrugs away from him. 

He looks touched by her words, but as if his concern for her welfare is his overriding feeling right now. “You don’t _have_ to do that for my sake”-

“I would _like_ to help you if I could”-

“You don’t _have_ to pay me back.” Jumin’s eyes grow more understanding. “You don’t _owe_ me anything. You know things that I don’t, just like Rika and V do and that is interesting to me,” he tells her, before he adds when she looks at him more sceptically, “You offered me a different opinion with the Yoosung situation just now. You _make_ me realize the impact that I can have on people and _show_ me different sides of myself. Sides that I would _like_ to get to know more of, but I would like you to do this more for _yourself_ than anyone”-

“I _need_ to do something useful for others though Jumin. I haven’t been able to do much of late…the last thing was the fundraising event,” she half-glances up at him awkwardly now, on the verge of thanking him again for his contribution to such a thing, but he doesn’t want to be thanked for his money and she has already done such a thing once.

“Then join the RFA, _please,”_ he almost begs her, “I can assure you that it will be a worthwhile thing for you to do. I don’t know _why_ you are being so stubborn about it.” 

“I _want_ to help your friend though.” She looks off to the side uncertainly now. “I don’t want it to just be one thing or the other. He looks like he needs someone and I _know_ what it’s like to struggle and to miss a person.” She looks down, not quite sure if she’s referring to Jumin or her mother at that point. He lets out a small huff of breath and his hand half-lifts up, like it wants to wrap itself around her and pull her to him, before it falls back down again as he reminds himself that the others are there. 

“We only know each other through the RFA, so I cannot really count him as a friend. _Besides,_ you would be helping him out just by joining the RFA and by giving him a more constant support than just once or twice a week.”

She wonders what _they_ are if he can’t even count Yoosung as a friend. “So the reason you’re helping him _is-?”_ she asks him.

“I hate to see a capable person giving up on their responsibilities.” He looks at her quite seriously now, as if his words are meant for her as well. “That is the _only_ reason I nag him for,” Jumin reels off and MC gives him an, _‘Uh-huh?’_ look now, as if she is sceptical about what he has just said. Jumin gives her a small smile that makes her heart flutter and it is like his eyes know what effect he is having on her for they soften. “You know me so well, Princess.” 

_‘Princess.’_ There it is. That word again. It sets so many things off inside her, _so_ many different emotions. It reminds her of the night that her mother had died and of the grief and the pain that had stemmed from that, but at the same time it also makes her recall the comfort that Jumin had given her. The comfort that had almost shielded her from herself in that moment because she’d been safe inside his arms. It was like nothing had been able to penetrate the small amount of warmth and support that he’d offered her, that nothing had been able to break through his hug. “I suppose you want to feel useful too?” her words come out somewhat shyly and her body shifts from side to side a little.

_“God…_ you don’t know how much. What a strange year it has been-first everything with your mother and you and then Rika…” He steps closer to her and smoothes back a piece of her hair from her forehead with his thumb. Her breath catches in her throat. In that moment she wants to press close to him, but she remembers herself and moves back ever so slightly, catching sight of the frown that Zen has on his face, before she turns her attention back to Jumin again. 

“My father and brother are still far from over what happened. They _detest_ you,” she whispers to him somewhat conspiratorially. 

“And _you?”_ It is barely noticeable-a slight tightening of the skin and downturn of the lips-but she senses that Jumin is bracing himself and that he’d been put off by her moving away from him, but she’d only been trying to be sensible. “Do you feel as if you can trust me in any circumstance?” She is surprised by the desperation that is in his tone and he must see it in her eyes for he hurriedly goes on albeit breathlessly, but more evenly, “I would like to believe that you could, that in the future you will be able to trust my family and I fully, even if your _own_ family cannot make the same leap.”

“I trust _you_ Jumin, but I cannot join the RFA,” she tries to be adamant about the fact even though she has never felt so torn about something in her entire life. 

“I will protect and support you, be there for you just like I promised you that I would be and I will make sure that the rest of the RFA will do the same.”

“Yes, but”-she begins now, as she wonders how she can _truly_ make him understand without putting the fear of God into him, though _maybe_ the fear of God might be a good thing in this case-“If my family ever find out that I am in the same organization as you then”-

“Did they tell you something? Say that they would harm me?” Jumin’s brow furrows and he is _more_ worried about what she might have been through in the past year. MC is stubbornly quiet, but she gives him a sort of meaningful look all the same. Jumin’s face softens with empathy. “I _knew_ after that night that they would probably not want us talking to one another, which is why I was prepared to and tried to stay away, out of respect for that and for you, _your_ grief…but surely you can see that it has gone too far now Princess? That you _need_ this organization and that I am _not_ going to leave you alone just so that you can become emptier?” 

She looks dubiously at him in that moment, still feeling as if he doesn’t quite understand. “My _brother…”_ she trails off now, feeling awkward and like she is somehow betraying her brother, but like it has to be said all the same.

“He will not be able to get anywhere near me. I have security. I _know_ it might not look like it”-his spreads his arms wide-“But I am quite heavily protected.”

“T-That night though”- her voice wobbles with emotion. 

“I escaped my guards. It will not happen again,” he tells her curtly. “Listen to me, Princess.” He grasps at her hands. “They will not have to know if you don’t want them to,” he tells her this because she still looks scared and uncertain of the thing, “But even if they do, if they _find_ out or you decide on your own to tell them, then they will _not_ be able to get to me and I can protect you in turn. You can let me know when you are going to tell them or you can come and stay at mine if they find out suddenly and are cross with you. I will be there for you. The work of the RFA will be made as easy as possible for you. Most of our meetings occur during school hours. There is an app that Seven can put on your phone. He made it himself and I hate to say it”-she smiles instinctively at that-“But it is _really_ very good. We all have it, though different versions of it depending on what we do for the organization. It is how we communicate, so you will be able to reach me there and you can call or text me whenever you like. All your work for the organization can largely be done over the app. You don’t have to worry about such work becoming an inconvenience for you. If you do not wish to tell your family that you are a member of the RFA then on the day of the party you can always say that you have an extra study group. There are ways around these things.” MC looks doubtful at that. _“Besides,”_ his fingers shift against her own in a plea for her to stay in this moment with him and not to fall into her own thought and she startles a little, “I truly believe that this might be good for you, so that you can have more of a circle of people around you, so that you are _never_ alone.” MC’s lips part uncertainly, taken by his fervent manner, but still half-sunk in her own doubt. “You say that Yoosung needs someone, but maybe _you_ do too?” he asks her with a quirk of his lips and she smiles a little. “Join us and you will never regret it I assure you.”

She hesitates. 

“How about”-V comes across now, followed by the others and _Jumin,_ remembering their presence again, for he’d gotten rather caught up in persuading her, takes his hands off of MC’s subtly-“After you accompany Yoosung home tonight you come to an address of a gallery that I will send to you and help me to put up some of my framed photos that we will be auctioning off at the party? It is my father’s place, so it doesn’t matter how long we are there for. I have to do it tonight however because I won’t get another chance before the party, but I could go through the role of the RFA in greater detail, whilst we work and give you a more in-depth understanding about the thing. Then you can decide whether you want to join it or not?” V does not mention the fact that he _fully_ expects Rika’s mental health to get worse closer to the party and so it is more a need to keep an eye on her than _not_ having time to put the photos up some other day. 

“You are letting _her_ decide?” Yoosung interrupts suddenly in a harsh, accusing tone, which causes MC to jump a fraction towards Jumin instinctively. He braces her with one hand, before he lets go of her. 

_“Sorry.”_ She blushes considerably. 

“It’s fine,” he nods now, trying to ignore the stares of everyone else. Jaehee in particular looks both pleased and amused by the contact between them, though MC is sure that she would turn like a Korean crevice salamander on Jumin if he ever hurt her. 

Yoosung is too focused on the issue however to particularly notice. “I was pushed into joining the RFA because I was Rika’s cousin and other people seemed to think that it would be a good for me. I wasn’t able to _leave_ it, not even after what happened with Rika and when I thought that my time would be better spent helping her. Did you not threaten me if I _did_ Jumin?” 

MC feels surprised to hear such a thing, but she does not step away from Jumin. She trusts him after all and no matter _what_ his friends might about him say and though she will _always_ take such words into account she can never forget everything that he has done for her. _That_ weighs far more heavily upon her than any other side of him. Jumin, however, _doubting_ how much MC has faith in him, looks annoyed with Yoosung for saying such a thing. “I only tried to remind you of your responsibility and what you said you were committed to.” MC lets out a breath-more at the tone the conversation is taking than what he had said, which is not surprising to her. “It is pointless of you to leave when you will be _much_ more isolated and the RFA will be beneficial to you. I _tried_ to make you recall the same thing today by phoning your mother, who will _surely_ be able to get through to you eventually if no one else will and if she is given a fuller picture of how you are behaving at school as well as at home.” He half-glances at MC, as if to check how his words have gone down. She accepts them without comment. 

“I am _still_ not happy with you for doing that.” Yoosung folds his arms now. 

“What about you MC? Will you at least hear more about the RFA?” V looks at her and draws everyone’s attention to her. 

She feels a little sick and looks to Jaehee for support. Jaehee nods at her encouragingly; as if she’s telling her that it’s the best thing and that it can all work out. 

“All right.” She looks at V now. The group seems visibly relieved, even if they do not know her. Jumin seems the most assured out of them all. 

*

“You must have been shocked when you walked in and saw me hovering over Jumin like that,” Yoosung says to MC conversationally. They have left the RFA meeting and in MC’s case she has abandoned her self-study, but is still somewhat _hoping,_ perhaps _naively_ she knows, that she might be able to make it to her Hagwon in time. She glances distractedly every so often at the thin, and ragged brown watch that is upon her wrist, as they take a bus to where Yoosung lives on the outskirts of the city. They are sat next to one another with their bags on their laps, as they talk. “I hope I did not frighten you?” 

“Oh no, you didn't, but I just wish that you would give Jumin _more_ of a chance that’s all. I _know_ it might not be how _you_ would have handled it, or how anyone else would have done, but he means well and his heart is in the right place. He _cares_ for you Yoosung,” MC says, not meaning to lecture him so soon, but not being able to help it either now that he has breached the topic. She shifts uneasily when there is some movement behind them and uses the opportunity to glance over her shoulder. She does not _want_ anyone that her father and brother know to see her on the bus with a strange boy. Even _if_ her father worked out that she had _not_ been with Jumin then he would still be beside himself with her for cutting into her study time for some random boy. He’d probably add Yoosung to the list of boys that her brother is allowed to attack if he ever found out it _was_ him. MC does not want that, not when Yoosung is suffering at the moment especially. She’s meant to be _helping_ him get better and perhaps giving him a different way to look at things, _not_ cursing him with her own presence and _unlike_ Jumin-though she still feels that her father and brother could probably get to him if they wanted to-Yoosung does not have any security. 

“You seem to know Jumin well?” Yoosung looks at her curiously. “I didn't think that anyone but V and Rika could guess why he does stuff like that.” He’s clearly fishing for information now and MC once again feels a slither of jealousy towards Rika and V for being able to be that close to Jumin. 

“Umm, maybe that’s true,” MC stalls for time when Yoosung looks at her maddeningly. She doesn’t particularly _want_ to go into everything that is between Jumin and her. It is all so complicated and difficult and yet strangely easy and natural to be with him at the same time. She is _still_ trying to process what has happened that night. _Still_ trying to believe in the fact that _maybe_ there is hope that she can speak to Jumin again. “I’m sure, like he tried to explain, he’s just trying to do his best by you, no matter _how_ much I do or don’t understand him”- 

“I don’t know about _that,_ but, you were probably right to try delay joining the RFA”-

“Why’s that?” She looks at him, her mind almost jumping on any reason that she can give to Jumin not to join and make life easier for herself, but at the same time her heart sinks now and she feels alarmed that there might be a negative side to joining the RFA when it has all sounded so positive up to this point to her. 

_“Well,”_ Yoosung says, gesturing with his hands, as if it’s obvious and pulling his bag a little higher up when it slips down his lap, “I would have been shocked too if I’d walked into a room and all these people were there and they tried to make me join an organization I didn't know much about.” 

“Jumin has tried to make me join it before and Jaehee’s told me a bit about it,” she explains to him, before she goes on more coolly, “You didn't exactly _seem_ all that keen for me to join though? I hope you don’t think that by joining I’d be taking over Rika’s work forever or preventing her from coming back?” Yoosung _does_ seem to be particularly fond of Rika and she is practically his family after all. “The organization has got her name in its title, so I'm _sure_ that even though she won’t be doing it in a school context any more she will be _keen_ to continue it after she graduates? I _really-_ and that is if I _do_ join-won’t be having much more than a side role in it. I have to prioritize my studying after all.” She thinks gloomily of her father. 

“Yes, I suppose that’s true. Rika will _always_ be important to the organization,” Yoosung looks a little wistful now. “I just feel so sorry for her,” he explains, “It was _her_ that set it all up”-MC keeps quiet about her _own_ musings on whether or not it had _really_ been Jumin’s idea inspired by her _own_ fundraising event, which had provoked the RFA-“Now she’s lost the chance to be happy and graduate properly and to hold the last ever party that she could have done and it’s just _so_ unfair. It’s not that I'm bitter towards you MC,” he tells her quickly at that point, “It’s not like you had much say in it all. The others are practically _forcing_ you to join, but it’s like they've all forgotten her. They just all carry on so normally. V shows barely any emotion about it.”

“Maybe V is trying to be strong for Rika and everyone else too? He wouldn’t want his _own_ emotion to affect her. And maybe carrying on is the only way they know _how?_ Jumin confessed to me that he’s been finding it difficult”-

“You must be _really_ close to Jumin if he confessed _that_ to you!” Yoosung exclaims. MC continues to look at him seriously and he relents now, “OK, it’s not as if I think they’re robots or anything. I _do_ know that if you were to join the RFA they’d look out for you, _well,_ everyone except V probably would,” Yoosung admits and MC has to feel a little amused by how determined Yoosung is not to give V any praise whatsoever. 

“I'm sure V would help too,” MC tries to be kind to him. It’s not like she _knows_ him but he’s Jumin’s best friend and he’d seemed reasonable enough to her earlier on after all. 

_“Maybe,”_ Yoosung relents, “But I wouldn’t bet on it. He can be _really_ strange sometimes.”

“Like _how?”_ MC wonders now. Is Yoosung simply being too hard on V and expecting too much from him or is there any _truth_ in what he’s trying to say to her?

“He was really happy when Rika and he started dating and Rika seemed to be too. They’d known one another through being in the same year in school of course, but as time went by they were more and more drawn to one another and I think Rika especially likes his photographs and is able to appreciate them more than anyone else can. Maybe except for Jumin,” he amends regrettably now. “At their best and when I used to see them around school it was like they were _made_ for one another. They had this habit of calling each other their sun”-Yoosung pulls a bit of a face now and MC laughs a little-“It was romantic, but kinda over the top y’know?” 

_“Uh huh.”_ She nods, wondering what Yoosung will be like once he himself gets a girlfriend and indicating that he should continue. 

“Rika even more or less lived with him, which is why she’s still with him now rather than being at home with my aunt and uncle. V’s family are so rich that he’s already got his own place by the cliffs. She liked to decorate it and everything seemed to be going well for V and her. But then, and since this all happened, he’s been really mysterious and by not letting anyone else see Rika it’s like he wants to keep her for himself. Don’t you think? He never shows up on the messenger any more either.” 

“Maybe he’s got a lot on his mind?” she suggests. “I mean he’s graduating soon so he’s probably worried about his future and balancing Rika with all of that and he’s probably feeling quite protective of her too after everything that happened. I don’t _mean_ that he thinks that you’re going to hurt her,” she catches herself when Yoosung swivels his head to look at her, “I just mean that maybe he’s trying to balance his _own_ feelings with everything else and it comes across as being a bit over the top sometimes because of it and he can’t quite get it all on one level the entire time? I think that Jumin is right and you should believe that you _will_ get to see Rika eventually and work hard until that point. _Trust_ that V knows what he’s doing more.” 

“Hm. _Maybe.”_ Yoosung does not look entirely convinced by that, but he looks a touch lighter from having discussed the issue a little. “At least _you_ take me seriously,” he mumbles, finding a silver lining. 

“The others don’t?” she asks. 

“Not _all_ the time.”

_“Well,_ I’ll _always_ try to listen to you and I _meant_ what I said about volunteering too. I might be busy, but if you want to start up again and you _need_ some company then I’m more than willing to join you.”

“Thanks MC. You haven’t even properly joined the RFA yet and you’re so nice.” Yoosung smiles a little embarrassedly, touching at his hair, as the bus goes over a rough patch of road. His hand jerks down to cling onto the railing on top of the seat that’s in front of them. _“Oh,_ we’re almost there!” he exclaims. “Hurry! You have to tell me what I’m going to do about Mom.” He turns to her keenly at that point and MC feels glad that he already feels like he can go to her for advice. 

“What is your family like in the first place? That might help me.”

_“Well…_ my Mom teaches Home Economics.”

“She must be really good at cooking then?”

“Yeah, but she always makes me chop onions whenever she makes kimchi and it hurts my eyes really bad.” MC chuckles at that. “Are you _laughing_ at me?” he’s incredulous, but quickly finds himself grinning too. “That’s no fair!” MC giggles. “She’s also involved so much in the community and with different events and organizations”-

_“Huh,_ there was me thinking that perhaps you’ve _only_ been inspired by Rika, Yoosung but I think that helping people is in your blood and that you would have found your way to the RFA or an organization like it even _without_ her influence.” She remembers now how Yoosung had said earlier how it had been his mom who had encouraged him to spend more time with Rika in the first place. She wonders vaguely if she regrets that decision now, but doesn’t share that thought with Yoosung. 

“Hmm, maybe.” He allows himself to look slightly proud of himself now, before he glances out of the window and then goes on to press the buzzer on the pole that’s beside their seat hurriedly. The bus slows down and they begin to make their way down the aisle when it stops. “But here’s the thing,” Yoosung says as he follows her casually, “Mom’s so diligent. Rika used to encourage me with my studies. My mom though, she took my studying to a _whole_ different level. The amount that she nagged me is probably _why_ I used to be such a good student.” MC thinks of her own family now and thinks that in their _own_ weird way they've helped her as well. “With her knowing though that I’ve been slacking off and haven’t been working as hard as of late, in school now as well thanks to Jumin, she might actually shove one of the soaps that she makes down my throat in the hope that it will cleanse me.”

“I'm _sure_ it won’t be that bad,” MC chuckles a little, as they get off the bus. 

“I'm _sure_ it will,” Yoosung counters with a shiver, but that might be just down to the cold. MC looks about for a moment. The stars are visible in the sky in this part of the city, probably since industry has long since stopped there and only brown rust remains. They seem to be close to a scrap metal yard. A feral cat slinks into the shadows nearby and MC is reminded of Elizabeth the 3rd. Jumin would _really_ be worried if he could see those types of cat and probably be worried if he could see where _she_ was. The bus moves off without them and Yoosung leads them away from the small stop to the singular skyscraper that juts out on the horizon and looks like a good five-minute walk away. 

“You’re going to be all right with Jumin from now on though, aren't you? And at least _try_ and be more understanding of everyone?” Yoosung sighs. It’s like _she_ is lecturing him now too. “I know we can’t always agree with one another, no matter _what_ we do we’re going to have a difference of opinion on some things, but we could _try_ and make it a little less if we step into someone else’s shoes. And Jumin was _only_ trying to get you out of your slump because he _knows_ how much potential you have. He was _trying_ to do you a favour really.”” 

“He likes doing that, huh?” He looks at her knowingly now, as if understanding in that moment that Jumin is trying to do the same by getting MC to join the RFA. They head past a few rusted cars that are on the wrong side of the junkyard fence. MC wonders now if Yoosung had ever played on such cars when he was younger. Their breaths mist out in front of them and their feet slap down heavily. 

“Yes he does,” she can’t help but smile a little, feeling very fond of Jumin in that moment, despite the fact that he worries her. 

_“But_ I'm still cross with the way that he went behind my back,” Yoosung sounds injured now. “He could have just talked to me about it if he was _that_ worried.” They make it onto a proper pavement and stride towards the skyscraper. 

“Are you _really_ saying that he didn't before and that you would have listened to him?” Her eyebrows rise now as she looks at him sceptically.

_“We-ell”-_ Yoosung blushes a little at that point.

“That’s what I thought,” she feels kind of pleased, “And besides, your mother _means_ well Yoosung. No matter what she says when you get home and how much it feels like she’s nagging you, or how it might feel like _I'm_ going on at you now, she really _does_ care about you, just like _I'm_ beginning too,” she smiles, and though he looks startled he does so in turn, “We all just want the best for you. It’s-It’s really nice to have people like that in your life Yoosung, so _please,_ from one friend to another, try and not hate it so much, yes?” She thinks of her own _apartment_ and the changes since her mother has left and has to blink back tears. She feels bad when she thinks of all the time that she has been away from Jumin too. The two people who she _could_ have been there for and who could have been there for her in turn and unfortunately neither of them have been able to be there for one another. 

Yoosung stops outside the bright, harsh lobby light by the main doors of the skyscraper, which are electronic and have already opened for them. He looks at her concernedly now and MC can tell that he feels guilt about the way he’s been behaving. “MC, are-are you saying that you don’t have _anyone_ like that in your life?” He looks worried about her. 

MC’s throat tightens and she just about manages to swallow down the emotion that she’s feeling. “I'm sure that it’ll get better. After you.” She waves a hand towards the bright lights of the lobby. Encased in it her hand looks quite angelic for a moment. A woman looks up at them from the reception desk and probably just wishes that they’d hurry up and come inside, so that the doors can close and cold air won’t blow into the place. Yoosung hesitates. He nods and then he enters the lobby. He sends an awkward and apologetic splayed fingered kind of wave at the woman and gestures towards the elevator.

“Yeah, we’ll just”- MC has to force back a smile at his words now, before she gives the receptionist a more serious nod of her own. 

Yoosung leads the way to the row of elevators that are on the left hand side. As they stop before one of them Yoosung calls it down and drums his fingers on his leg. He seems to have a lot on his mind. MC’s head is buzzing too, as if everything that has happened recently is humming inside of it and being played at high-speed over and over again because she is _too_ tired to be able to slow it down and to grasp onto all the details at that point. She adjusts her bag on her shoulders and when she lifts her head up from doing that it is to find that Yoosung is smiling at her gratefully. “Thank you for coming all this way with me. I _know_ that it’s really late and you must have a lot to do, but I really appreciate it.” He notices that she looks weary now. 

She grins at him in turn. “It was no problem,” she says. It has been good to be able to figure out more about him.

The elevator door slides open and they step inside of it. It is not as if she has not been in any elevators since those days that her mother lived with Chairman Han, but the bareness of this one and the slight stale smell of it-she’s sure that it’s urine, but she does not want to think about it too much-is a world away from the plush red velvet and vague lavender scent that had filled the elevator, which leads up to Chairman Han’s penthouse. She closes her eyes a little in a greater response to her tiredness, as they ride up on it. 

_“MC?”_ Yoosung taps at her arm. 

_“Oh,_ are we there already?” She jumps and the elevator door slides open. 

“Yeah,” Yoosung says kind of pointlessly. 

They step out. Yoosung looks at her a little concernedly again and feeling bad for making him worry she gives him a sleepy smile. She _knows_ that she’s supposed to be helping him, but right now she thinks that she’s reached the peak of what she’s able to do for him that day and just wants her bed and to have a chance to think back on it all. 

“It’s just down here.” They pad a little noisily down the hallway. Their shoes squeak slightly against the blue carpet. They turn right and then stop at the first door that they come across. Yoosung looks at MC. She gives him an encouraging thumbs-up and his face suddenly breaks out into a boyish grin. “I can do this right?”

_“ ‘Course_ you can,” she urges him, “And remember what I told you. She only cares for you.”

He gets a slight defensive look on his face for a moment, before it becomes that one of pinched anxiety again, as if he is once again wondering if MC doesn’t have anyone that she can confide in, but thankfully, and before he can say anything, the door opens. 

A no-nonsense looking woman with her long brown hair tied up at the back of her head and a curvy frame looks at them. Her head tilts slightly, revealing a slight double chin and she breaks out into a burst of rapid Korean that MC can’t understand in her tired state. She blinks and tries to make sense of what she’d just heard. 

_“Oh?_ Did you not understand? Mom said that she’s really pleased to meet you and that it’s about time that I brought a female friend home, but I should not be using one as a shield for my bad behaviour.” They both have the decency to look a little guilty at that. “She also said that you are welcome though, since you are here, to have some kimchi with us. She’s still got some leftover from”- 

“I should probably be heading off.” MC sneaks a glance at her watch. The time of her Hagwon is drawing perilously near. Even at her fastest she’ll only have time to hear a _couple_ of sentences from V at the gallery, before she _really_ should be heading off once more. She can’t _imagine_ deciding whether she’ll become a member of the RFA that night, so it will probably have to wait until tomorrow. 

“I thought that was probably the case, but are you _sure_ MC? We have enough and,” he lowers his tone dramatically, “It would _really_ be helping me out.” He half-jerks his head at his mother, which makes her blow a breath through her nose and not look amused. 

MC laughs at his attempt to delay the inevitable confrontation, but _hopes_ that he’ll remember what she said when it comes down to it. “Goodnight Yoosung.” She glances politely up at his mother. “It was nice to get to meet you Mrs. _-ah”-_

_“Kim,”_ the woman looks intrigued by her and MC feels bad for not even knowing her last name. She knows more about Yoosung now, but she hadn’t even known that much! 

“Right, I'm sorry Mrs. Kim. I just met your son this evening. It’s not my place I know”-Yoosung looks suddenly nervous at her words-“But even though I have _only_ known him for a short while your son seems to be like the type who tries his best and will do what’s right in the end.” She gives the woman her best smile now and hopes that she has not overreached. She’d just felt it would be good to _try_ and cover Yoosung in case he forgets everything that she’d told him earlier and takes it _far_ too personally when his mother starts to have a go at him, which seems, already to her, like something he might do. At least this way it might cool her ammunition and allow her to be more understanding of her son in turn. 

“I see,” the lips of Yoosung’s mother twitch. 

“I’ll go then,” MC decides that she’s probably said more than enough at that point and that maybe she’s gone too far, “Goodnight.” She casts them both a glance and then turns, her heart beating a little more rapidly in her chest, as she moves off again. She’s only rounded the corner, however, when she hears Yoosung calling her name. Surprised and wondering if she’s somehow managed to forget something even though she’s _sure_ that nothing ever fell out of her pockets she turns back to him. He looks at her meaningfully, before he rushes to her.

“Thank you! Thank you for what you did tonight!” He closes the gap between them and hugs her tightly. “I know you can’t tonight, but you’re _always_ welcome to stay here for longer. Mom would love it and there’s _always_ enough food, though we've never really been lucky enough to get Honey Buddha Chips like Seven can, _but”-_ he says the next bit close to her ear urgently-“I _know_ that you’re meeting with V now, but bear in mind what I said about him, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Thank you, but I'm _sure_ that I’ll be fine and keep in mind what I said too, okay?” She pulls back from him and gives him an encouraging smile.

Yoosung grins a little sheepishly at her now, but when he suddenly slumps MC’s face grows concerned. “I guess I better go and face one of my Mom’s lectures then.” 

“Good luck.” MC’s laugh brightens up the hallway. She turns once more and this time she makes it all the way out of the building. 

It is the darkness and _not_ the light that feels harsh on her eyes this time and she stands for a moment, blinking, just outside the lobby. She gets out her phone and checks on the address that V had given her, before she’d left the RFA meeting that night. She feels suddenly lonely as she does so-away from the bright lights and the warmth of Yoosung’s family-and she feels cold and tired and has a stark moment of missing her mother and the address on her phone blurs before her eyes, but she tries to hold back any tears and finds another bus instead. 

She makes her way into the city again. She doesn’t need to go _right_ into its centre. The gallery is at a riverside location and offers an element of exclusivity and privacy, close to a few other smaller office buildings and residences, but with only a low thrum of traffic passing by. The outside is mostly made up of glass, though there are wooden balconies that jut over the river on the left hand side of the building. A light appears to be on in the upper floor, but does not reach down to the security guard, who she can just about see is making his way to the rear of the building.  
MC makes her way past the abandoned reception area and up the stairs, uncomfortable at the gap that’s between each one of them and hoping that she _won’t_ somehow take a misstep and get caught in the slit. She’d _hate_ it if that happened and would probably turn back into the crybaby that her brother had known her as when she’d been younger, especially since she’s _so_ tired. She almost doubts that there’s anyone else inside yet, but as she makes it to the highest floor she can thankfully see a light flooding out from the gallery room that’s close to being in front of her. She almost creeps towards it, grateful when she sees the leader of the RFA, his back turned to her, staring in contemplation at one of the light-wooden framed photos that he has just hung up and still wearing his school uniform. There are more framed photos leaning up against the wall near him and a mass of free space before that, only broken up by the occasional statue and a bit of a mixed smile and frown makes its way onto her face when she remembers Zen’s earlier words about how he himself is statuesque. She must find out _why_ he dislikes Jumin so much. Now that she’s given Yoosung something to think about perhaps _that_ can be her next mission? 

“Oh V! I was beginning to think that I was the only one here!” She steps quickly towards him, as he whirls around. Her feet sound loud on the wooden floor. 

“Oh MC! Is that the time already?” He glances around for a clock even though there is not one in the vicinity and she notices that his wrist is free from a watch. “I think Jumin will be very cross with me for not coming to greet you. He wanted me to look after you well I'm sure.” He looks at her knowingly now with a lop-sided smile upon his face and she blushes. 

“Yoosung got home safe,” she says, stopping beside him and choosing to ignore the remark about Jumin, as she doesn’t know _how_ to deal with it or whether she _will_ be able to join the RFA. She wants to of course in one sense, but will it be a safe decision for everyone if she does so? For _Jumin_ who she wants to protect most of all? 

“I must admit it is odd to see Jumin acting so different and caring for someone I have only just met, but going back to Yoosung as you want me to I'm sure,” he teases her now and she blushes profusely, “Thank you for looking after him.” 

“It was no problem. I think,” she goes on more tentatively because V seems to be a root cause of Yoosung’s problems, at least in _Yoosung’s_ mind, and she’s wary of coming across as cruel by telling V such a thing, even _though,_ and to be fair, he probably knows about it by now, “He just needed someone to listen to him.”

V seems to take her words harshly all the same. _“Ah,”_ his face falls, “I do not want you to think-that is I have _tried_ to talk to Yoosung previously about it all myself, _but”-_ he shrugs rather awkwardly now, his shoulders staying hunched up close to his neck for a long time, before they drop down again. 

“It’s all right,” she shrugs more swiftly herself, “It was probably _easier_ for him to talk to a stranger,” she tries to excuse the thing now, before she looks hurriedly around for a new topic of conversation. “Are _those_ your photos?” She draws closer to both him and the wall, which the photos are leaning against. 

“Oh yes,” V seems a little embarrassed, “Rika said that I should do something useful and put them up for auction.” MC feels puzzled. Hadn't Yoosung told her that Rika had been one of the few people to _truly_ appreciate V’s work? 

“It must be hard,” she says, aiming to figure out their relationship in her head, “Trying to do the right thing by her all the time?” 

V looks at her quickly, analyses her and deduces that she’d said the thing innocently enough, and of _course_ she had he thinks to himself now. How would it be _possible_ for her to know when no one _else_ realizes exactly what Rika puts him through and how he’d still try and do anything for her despite it all? He lets out a little sigh. “Yes, yes it is…”

“I'm sorry about what happened to her,” MC tells him more compassionately.

“Thank you. Equally I am sorry for your _own_ loss,” he says. 

Blinking back some emotion, which has hit her suddenly, she peers more closely at the photos. Light seems to play a prominent part in each one of them, little glimpses of it shining through the trees, which remind MC of the wall hanging that she’s got in her room, or buildings. The sun itself is never shown directly until the last piece, which shows it boldly in the centre of the image against a background of a hazy, blue sky. She thinks back to what Yoosung had said earlier about Rika and V calling each other their suns and thinks that the collection must have a personal meaning for V. “These are wonderful though…you’re very talented,” she tries to console him now. 

“Thanks,” V says, grinning a little, before he suddenly grows stiffer in expression and more upright, “Of _course,_ photography is only a hobby though and I only managed to do _this_ well with the camera I have because Rika was there to inspire me. She had the good idea of them being auctioned too. Otherwise they would have gone to waste.” MC cannot see how that can _really_ be the case. 

“They’re important to you though?” she questions him. 

“Well, of _course,”_ V runs a bashful kind of hand through his hair now and MC regrets putting him in a difficult position for a moment, but is _glad,_ when she remembers Jumin’s worries about V only treating art as a hobby when it’s something that he should be taking more seriously that she’s doing so. “It’s just an indulgence of mine however. One that I _might_ be able to partake in more when I'm a successful businessman through buying and selling pieces, _maybe_ even making my _own_ if anyone’s interested like my father who has managed to utilize his talent well, but right now, and until I am more of a made man as they say, than it is not something that I should be doing too much of. Rika’s scare has shown me that I should be more responsible and not get _too_ distracted by the talent that you claim that I have.” 

“It’s a shame though,” MC takes a couple of steps and lifts up the piece with the sun full in its middle, before she returns to him again, “To let it all be put on hold until then when I would have thought that you’d be wanting to do either art or photography in college since you have all this potential.” She shows him the piece. 

_“Ahaha,”_ V laughs awkwardly and swipes a hand across his jaw for a moment, “I see that you might have been talking to Jumin. It is true that he gets frustrated about such things and more so now because he thinks that I am putting my life on hold for Rika and cannot understand the thing. He has shown a similar compassion towards you”-MC’s cheeks heat up-“Though it would be hard for me to tell _exactly_ what is going through that head of his because he has grown quieter in the time that you have not been speaking to one another. Whatever went on between you has had a deep effect on him and he wants to change things now. I can tell.” They both take a reflective kind of pause at that point. _“Anyway,_ we are here to talk about you possibly joining the RFA and to get ready for the party. Shall we get started?” She nods. “Aside from the broader theme of light, which you have probably guessed”-V looks a little uncomfortable now and MC bows her head-“I was thinking the pieces could represent all the dreams and hopes of our graduates this year. I hope they will be able to shine as bright as the sun, no matter _what_ difficulties get in their way, and that is how I see the pieces fitting in with the party.” She can tell now that he has done a lot of thought about this and thinks that Jumin was right-a businessman would _not_ have spoken exactly like he had. The story, whilst a selling point in itself would not have featured so heavily, whilst other details, that V had not even mentioned, would have. 

“So your plan is to put the photos up in the order you’ve got them laid out in? Am I right?” She thinks about what she has just said for a moment. “Which would mean that _this_ piece goes last.” She puts the photo that she’s been holding back down again. 

“Yes, you catch on very quickly MC,” V says approvingly from behind her and she turns back around, “That would also come in handy if you join the RFA.” He smiles at her. She wonders if this is where all the wooing for her to join the RFA starts? She still isn’t _sure_ what she’s going to do, but she’s looking forward to getting the chance to compare his sales pitch with Jumin’s. “The hooks are already available to us, so it’s just a simple matter of taking care and fixing them on. I hope they will fit well here and that we won’t have to make any adjustments.” She nods and carefully picks up the next photo in the line. He watches her initially and then helps her to find out where the hook is in comparison to the photo. His hair smells of mint as he ducks his head down behind the frame, whilst helping to steady it. “There we go. So the RFA then,” V says now as he withdraws and they each take a photo this time and settle them side by side, “I'm sure you have a lot of questions about it?”

“Yes, what types of charities does the RFA raise money for?”

“It is a variety of them. Sometimes we have a particular focus on one section of society-the elderly for example and providing heating for them in the cooler months or collecting goods for families who don’t always have access to them. Other times we link it with education and try and make sure that everyone can afford it in the local area, even if they need additional equipment or have learning difficulties.” 

“And do the members of the RFA have an input into _what_ charities you raise money for?” she asks now. 

“They _can_ make suggestions yes. Jumin wanted to raise money for PhoneForLife, a charity that helps connect people at suicide prevention centres, so some of the proceeds went to that the last time. Am I right in thinking that you would want some of the proceeds to go to a heart failure charity?” he’s unfailingly kind in both tone and expression. 

She hesitates, almost having forgotten that V is not aware of the _exact_ cause of her mother’s death and then she nods a little, thinking how once again Jumin has taken care of the _real_ issue that is close to her heart. She wonders how much money had been raised that time…V is still staring at her. She asks him, “All I have to do is talk to the guests?”

“Yes,” V lets out a breath, “I am very hopeful that the RFA will continue to be able to do good in the community, even _with_ some of us graduating soon, but part of ensuring that it continues to flourish in its current form will be down to people like _you_ if you’d do us the honour of joining”-he smiles a little cheekily at her-“Jaehee, Yoosung and Luciel. The rest of us will do what we can of course, but it will be up to you four to _really_ promote and attract guests since you will be the only ones left at this school in the future. Of course once we've all left school I'm hoping that we can still continue to carry out the RFA’s work just in another format,” V tells her, but MC’s still about two sentences behind. 

“Sorry, I'm not sure if I'm quite following you, who’s Luciel?” she asks him now. 

“It is Seven’s baptismal name I believe,” comes a smooth and recognizable voice that does not belong to V. MC whirls around, the framed photo still in her hands, and she’s lucky that she does not drop it. 

_“Jumin!_ I did not expect to see you here tonight,” she exclaims. 

“Yes, it is a surprise that you have come. Whatever could have brought you here?” V’s words sound a bit tongue-in-cheek to MC.

“I just wanted to make sure that MC got here all right,” Jumin tells his friend evasively. “It is dark outside.” He ignores the fact that she is _always_ going home from school in the dark. “I would not want anything to happen to her simply because we told her to come to this place. I also wanted to see if I could do anything to help. Saying that though I did not mean to interrupt. I see that you seem to have things under control,” he says all of this rather robotically, before he looks at them both. MC wonders for a shocked half-second whether what Jumin is experiencing is jealousy, before she quickly dismisses such a notion. He’d _known_ that she would be coming here to meet V after all and that they would be talking with one another.

V looks slightly puzzled too, before his face clears up ever so slightly. “Since you’re here though perhaps it would be simpler if _you_ finished explaining about the RFA to MC? I can finish putting up these,” he does what Jumin clearly wants him to, though of course MC can’t see such a thing. 

“Are you sure?” she asks him and V wishes that she wouldn’t, for it _only_ threatens to aggravate the situation. True to form Jumin looks slightly annoyed by the question. 

_“Yes,”_ V says firmly to her, before he seems to read something in the expression of his friend’s face and adds, “Excuse me for one moment. I’ve just remembered that I meant to check on a painting that is up in one of the other rooms. It is really most inspiring to me and I want to look at it some more, whilst I get the chance to and it is quiet to do so.” He walks quickly away from her, puts a hand on Jumin’s shoulder as he passes him and earns a roughened response in Korean in turn, before he moves hurriedly out of there. He seems to have forgotten his desire to put business first in his hurry to escape. 

MC turns back to where she’d meant to put the frame on the wall, feeling a little confused by it all and like she’d quite like to straighten it out in her head. 

“Put that down,” Jumin orders her, “V can sort it out later like he told you.”

“I feel like I’ve just missed something,” she says a little absent-mindedly to herself. Jumin strides across there and MC’s nose becomes infused with that scent of sandalwood again as he gently takes the frame from her and leans it up against the wall himself. 

“Do not worry about such a thing. I expect that is the way that _most_ people feel after they see V and I communicating. We have known one another for years after all. Someone who’s new to the sight cannot be expected to keep up.”

“I think you are right about him though. Someone who is as talented as him _should_ be making a career out of such a thing.” 

“You only have to look around to see that. Just being here makes me want to invest in art and support different artists in the future, even if I _had_ to go against my father to do such a thing. V worries too much about what his _own_ father thinks, however, and does not put himself first as much as he should do. Like someone _else_ that I can think of.” He looks at her knowingly. 

MC smiles guiltily at that. “Going back to your point,” she tries to evade him-a fact that does not escape Jumin and he lifts an eyebrow. “Seven does not come across to me straight away in his appearance as a person who would be _naturally_ religious, but you must know him well to be aware of the fact that the crucifix he wears is not just for decoration?” she tries to establish how much Jumin _truly_ knows the others, whilst also wondering how much comfort Seven gets from his faith. 

“No, I do not know him well. It is just something I am aware of since V is always calling him by it, and it is a little _odd,_ what with his sense of humour and the way that he acts sometimes I agree that he is apparently so religious-although I think V did say once that he met Seven and his twin at church through Rika who has known him for far longer than any of us have.”

“He has a _twin?”_

“Mm. He does not live in the area any more though. That is all I know. As for Seven himself one of the few things that I _do_ know about him is that he seems to find it funny to harass poor Elizabeth the 3rd and that he lives in a children’s home.” Her face grows concerned and she puts it to Jumin that she finds it sad that Seven’s twin has somehow managed to get out of the children’s home when Seven himself was unable to. “Maybe he got a scholarship?” Jumin suggests. “I know Seven did, but for our school,” he shrugs now. MC knows that many families run into difficulty paying for their children’s school fees in South Korea and feels glad that hers can just about afford such a thing. “You don’t have to worry about Seven though. I am sure he more than likely has the run of the place and it is rigged with booby traps that are set by him.” She finds herself smiling at his attempt to cheer her up and then her face falls again. Should she be here? Should she be _allowed_ to enjoy herself with him? “What is wrong?” he asks her.

_“Huh?”_

“A cloud just passed over your face.”

_“Oh,_ I don’t know.” She sighs, turns around now and tucks her hair more neatly over one shoulder. “Just tired I guess.” She walks forward and heads through the semi-transparent door that leads to the small balcony. She still feels conflicted and as if she is _betraying_ her family by just _being_ with Jumin right now, even though they don’t know about her being so. “Did you know that I'm supposed to be at my Hagwon at this time?” she says, her fingers half-curling around the wooden railing, as he joins her and looks at her. 

“You can still go there if you like. I will escort you. I would not want you to get into trouble with your father.”

_“No…”_ she looks out into the dark wistfully for a moment, biting hard upon her lip and finally makes her mind up. She has waited a long time for this chance and she’s missed part of her Hagwon as it is. It would be too awkward to explain if she went now and even being _this_ late she will be in trouble with her father. Best to skip it and just try and get home at the usual time that she would in any case and hope that too many questions aren't asked of her. Best just to try and enjoy the moment she’s been gifted. The trees whistle and shake like church bells in the wind, as if they’re turning her desperation and hope into sound. The gurgling of the river struggles to be heard above it all. “I don’t think, even if I _wasn’t_ that tired that I would be in the right mood for it now,” she tries to excuse her decision in front of him without telling him the _full_ reason for it. She strips her watch from her wrist defiantly and lets it fall into the dark. Jumin looks at her in surprise. She laughs a little, before she acknowledges ruefully, “I spend so much time living in the past that I sometimes forget to live in the present.” 

“I prefer to _be_ in the present,” he comments, “I feel more _alive_ there and that is why I want us to be friends again. I _hate_ the idea of being at college and thinking about you _only_ in the past tense. Over the previous year, however, it has been so difficult for me to think of anything _but_ the past because that is where you have mostly been.” 

“Its been the same for me,” she acknowledges now, letting him know that she’s been living there a lot too and feeling glad for the fact that he’s once again reminded her that she’s been on his mind a bit. “Going with Yoosung and meeting his mom kind of made me think of my own again. I should probably be getting over her by now…” she sighs and quickly looks away from him, before she can get too emotional. 

“I would not have allowed you to go with him if I’d known that it would upset you and of _course_ there is no time limit for when you should stop grieving for your mother.” 

She shrugs. “I think I might have got through to him and helped in the end. I'm not sure if I did as _much_ as you would have liked me to-he seems to hold V to a _very_ high standard”-Jumin snorts now, as if to say that is an understatement-“But I did my best. I think he might go through a few more things in his mind and hopefully be a bit more careful and understanding when he speaks to you and the others.” He rubs at her shoulder briefly as if to say that it is not _her_ responsibility to make sure he does such a thing and what will be will be. “When I saw his mother…Yoosung explained to me beforehand about how she _always_ pushes him to study and how-how she _always_ makes him chop onions when they’re preparing kimchi together and how annoying he finds it. Even though I sympathize with Yoosung I couldn't help but find myself wishing afterwards that _my_ mother could do those things with me. Was that selfish?” She looks at him desperately now. Her hands slide off the wood. 

“No, no Princess you are tired and you miss her. It is understandable. You have had a lot to deal with today. Come, come inside where it is warm. I do not want you getting a cold.” His hand nudges at her waist now, before it finds her fingers and threads his own through hers. There is something warm and comforting about the gesture-it also makes her realize how cold she’d gotten-and she shifts closer to him as he guides them back inside where V has still not returned and to a clear space in front of the wall on the opposite side of the room where she’d been working with V previously. Jumin lets go of her hand and shrugs off his jacket. He lays it out on the floor much to her surprise and nods at her to sit on it. When she hesitates for a moment he tells her, “It is there now. It cannot get any dirtier. In any case it can easily be replaced.” She _hates_ the way that he talks about money sometimes, but slips off her shoes nonetheless, so that she will be more comfortable and sits down on the jacket, her legs going off to the side of her as she feels the cool brown lining of the jacket with her fingers. It still feels warm and the thought both makes her feel embarrassed and want to wrap it all around her like a blanket. Maybe all her worries would fade then and she’d feel safe? It is an embarrassing thought, but the action itself would not be a world away from the hug that he’d given her all that time ago. Jumin, eyeing her all the time and with a crease about his forehead, slips out of his shoes, revealing grey and white stripy socks and sits close to her. “You look conflicted. You are annoyed with me?”

“No,” she says, before she amends, “It’s just…if I got my school jacket dirty then I would probably get into a lot of trouble and have to save to afford another one,” she can at least replace the truth with another to excuse her expression. 

“Yet you were the one to throw away a watch just now?” His eyebrows rise at her. 

“That was a stupid thing to do. I’ll have to try and scrounge another one off my brother.”

“I would buy it and the jacket for you. I would not hesitate at all”-

“That’s not the _point_ Jumin. I don’t _want_ and I'm not _asking_ for your money,” she’s genuinely cross with him now, but her heat quickly evaporates when she notices how carefully he’s watching her, almost like he’s on the edge of being hurt or expecting to be really soon. “I _know_ that you’re generous and I _know_ it’s not your fault about the background that you come from. You can’t help it. I'm _immensely_ grateful for the donations you made. Y-You don’t know how much they mean to me. You _can’t,”_ she ducks her head down now, eyes watering a little. He tucks a cold finger beneath her chin and lifts it up. Meeting his eyes she pulls a little away from him, not wanting to be so close to him when she feels so confused. “But sometimes I would just like to feel secure in _one_ aspect of my life. That even if it can’t be _emotionally_ stable for any of us, then it could be financially so, but there’s _nothing…_ only emptiness. _Nothing_ is right.” 

“I am used to that feeling, more than you know,” he informs her and she looks at him a little anxiously, but with intrigue there too. “I might come from a rich family, but that has its _own_ set of problems”-

“Of course,” she is quick to interrupt, “I did not mean”-

“My father and I”-he waves a hand and implores her with his eyes to let him talk-“We are used to people trying to take advantage of us, of everyone wanting something from us and expecting that”-she opens her mouth-“Not _you,_ no,” he says, “But that was one of the reasons _why_ I was so reluctant, initially, to let your mother and you into the life we had. As you know I was beginning to be fed up of going through the same hassle all the while, but your mother and you…you showed me that it did not _have_ to be that way. That is why, for a change, I felt lonely, not because of being _rich,_ but because of the absence of your mother and you…I would never have imagined that I would be able to feel that way for another reason.” She looks at him sympathetically, but feels glad that they have _some_ sort of shared feeling between them and can understand to a point what the other is going through. “I never expected it and I have never experienced this with anyone before,” and he looks surprised that he has now, “But perhaps _you_ are the only one who can understand since it involves you and your mother is not here and you are _clearly_ missing her and feeling the same. Your emotion…your _feeling…_ that is why I think that joining the RFA might be good for you,” he gets back on her case again, “You have been grieving and that is all for far too long now.” She opens her mouth. “I am not saying that you should get over it, like I have said there is no time limit, but like Yoosung you should let a little bit more into your life and not draw it all to a halt because of that one thing. No matter _how_ important that person is to you…like V you should put yourself first sometimes.” She closes her mouth now and smiles in a watery, but genuine fashion at him. He looks away and she is sure that she can see a pinkening of the skin high upon his cheekbones and an uncertainty about everything he has just told her and how it might have been received. She pecks him on the cheek to reassure him that all is as well as it can be in that moment and he looks back at her. His eyes seem to shine with some deep emotion and then he exhales, _“God…_ if you join the RFA then I will have to protect you from all the others.”

“Are they _really_ that bad?” she is a little alarmed now, but glad that he had not questioned the kiss. 

“Jaehee is all right as you know. Seven, _he…_ along with what I told you earlier he is a genius with computers. He gives me goosebumps sometimes with all the things he is able to do. He is the second youngest out of all of us, but he could probably bring down governments if he wanted to.” He shivers dramatically and she smiles a little. “That _Yoosung,_ who has taken so much of your time up already”-

“I don’t mind, but I think he and his mother want to adopt me now.”

“You will have to be careful of him though.” She looks at Jumin. His face is grave and his eyes are staring straight ahead of him. “He idolized Rika and I fear that he gets too easily attached sometimes…”

“You’re talking about Rika?”

_“Yes.”_

“What about you?” 

_“Hm?”_ He looks at her now, a little bit thrown by her question. 

“Do _you_ get too attached Jumin?” He thinks that she means to her or her mother at first, but then she goes on, “She’s your friend too.” She looks ahead now and nervously bites upon her lip. Her pulse jumps in her neck. “It must be weird, having that distance from her all of a sudden? How have you been coping with all of that? You hinted at it earlier, _but”-_

“I feel like I am missing something,” Jumin admits now. “Rika… _Rika_ is one of the _few_ people who has never wanted anything from me. She has a kind and genuine heart and she _only_ seems to want to do some good in this world, that is what I admire her most for. She is also one of the few people who has tried and come close to understanding me, though she does not always get my sense of humour I must confess,” he finishes dryly now. He looks at her, hoping that she will get the fact that _she_ is one of the few that he means now and that he will not have to explain such a thing to her, _nor_ that she has come closer to it than most people have done and he feels like she might be able to go all the way some day. She is deep in thought however, _and,_ unbeknownst to him, wondering where _she_ fits on the scale of understanding him. He talks so passionately about Rika, but she feels as if _she_ has some understanding of him too and that they are on the same wavelength despite the fact that they haven’t had all that much contact with one another over the years. Is it just a fraction of what Rika was able to see? “She saw quite far down into my soul though,” Jumin muses and seems to confirm the thing, looking at MC carefully now. 

_“Oh,”_ that brings MC momentarily out of her thought.

“One of the things that she always used to tell me,” Jumin continues more firmly, before he sees the thoughtful expression that she has sunk back into and changes tack, _“MC?_ Are you still listening to me, Princess?” 

_“Hm?”_ she looks at him. 

“I am trying to conduct a soliloquy here.”

“Oh, sorry,” she says, before she realizes that he’s joking and laughs. 

“There it is.” His eyes gleam in triumph now and he looks relieved. MC just blushes. “I was saying how I think Rika was beginning to notice our-our closeness, before everything that did happened.” She knows that he means her mother now and her face grows more solemn again like he had not wanted it to. He sighs at the fact. “The point I am making however,” he decides that it might be best to wrap up his words as quickly as possible, “Is that you should be careful about doing too much or being _too_ kind to Yoosung or he will fixate upon you. You need to create a bit of distance or he will have you in his thoughts all the while, just like he did with Rika. It cannot be healthy, after all, to have someone in your thoughts so much.” He is trying to be his natural, logical self here, but he cannot help but feel that thinking about MC so much never seems as if it’s wrong to him. In fact it feels incredibly _right._ She misses the look he gives her now. Misses how ever since she’d walked into the RFA meeting that night he has been able to think about little else other than her. It is as if every thread in his mind leads back to her at the moment. He shakes his head as if to try and get himself out of it all and she wonders what he is thinking about. 

“And _Zen?”_ MC continues with their conversation tentatively. “Should I be wary of him also? Things seemed to be a bit tense between you both before?”

Jumin looks discomfited. He looks at her and then away once more. His fingers fidget like an arachnid spinning their web and she is reminded of the way that he had played the piano. “I cannot tell you how to behave around _him._ That is _your_ choice Princess, _but”-_

_“But?”_ she pushes him for answers. 

“I would heed caution with him. He is a flirt, a charmer. He does not like me very much as well. Although I would be available to help him if he ever needed it and there was _anything_ I could do, something about me seems to rub Zen up the wrong way. I do not know _why_ he is so against me,” Jumin looks rueful now, “But whatever the case I seem to be incapable of stopping such a thing.” 

“Maybe I should have a word with him then?”

He shakes his head adamantly. “I would rather that you do not get involved in these sorts of affairs Princess.”

“But if I can be of _help?”_ she urges him. 

“Even so, I do not think that there is much rationale to his dislike of me,” Jumin goes on now.

She lets out a little breath. She wishes again that she could help him, just like he has done for her. She does not want to _take_ from him all the time. 

“What is that all about?” He looks at her concernedly, her sigh having pricked both his interest and his fears. 

“It’s like I told you before. I’d like to do something for _you_ for once. You always solve my problems, or you try to anyway the best you can, and I’d like to help you, like-like Rika did if I can since she”-

“You do not need to be Rika or replace her. Just be yourself.” He looks at her seriously, a headache growing up inside of him. “I would _hate_ for you to be anything _but_ that, and don’t think that just because you _are_ helping Yoosung that, that is what you have to be to him and to everyone else either. They want to get to know this _new_ person, not find out that they already know her. That won’t be much fun for anyone.” 

MC takes a bit of a breath and nods at that. “All right, I’ll be myself”-Jumin looks pleased by the fact-“But surely there is something that I can do for you even in _that_ context?” 

“You would be helping me if you took better care of yourself,” he doesn’t waste any time in telling her. 

“You mean by joining the RFA?”

“How about it? I might not know everything about all of its members, but I _know_ enough to be aware of the fact that they will not leave one of their own behind, that they will _always_ be willing to be there for you and if they should fail for some reason in your eyes then you can _always_ turn to me. I will _never_ let you down,” he says that last part with a rumbling ferocity. 

“Yoosung said something similar earlier,” she confesses to him now, before she quickly adds when his eyes flash a little, “The first part-how the RFA would want to help me if I joined.” 

_“Will_ you join the RFA?” he doesn’t let their conversation go around in a circle again. “Things can’t get any better for you if you don’t take opportunities when they come up.”

“I’d like to help…” she’s hesitant now, “Would what I'm doing _really_ be that straight forward though? And are you _sure_ that I’d be able to keep it all from my family if I _did_ join? _Because,_ like I’ve been trying to say, I don’t think that telling them is _really_ an option right now.” 

“If that is what you have chosen,” he bows his head at her, “Then I can only guarantee it as much as I did so earlier, but you will have my support of course if they should find out in any case and take it badly. As for your role in the organization you’ll have the position of co-ordinator, which is an important job,” he admits now, his honesty shining through and she feels glad for such a thing and that he’s not trying to shield the truth from her. “Whilst the rest of us will often get in touch initially with a guest if we know them, and we _also_ have a guest list available, though you are welcome of course to suggest anyone for yourself or who you _think_ might be useful to us, it will be your role to close the deal and to help persuade them to come. I believe that Jaehee has already been in touch with many people on the guest list for this time, so the majority are only waiting for someone to reply to them and you might find that as she gets in touch with the final few that you have some new e-mails dropping into your Inbox.”

“It’s quite a lot of pressure,” she feels suddenly nervous now, the weight mounting inside of her. 

“I believe though, that if you accept it, then you will be all right. The positives outweigh the risk Princess and the benefits that you will no doubt get from joining such an organization will be monumental. If you have any questions then the others or myself will answer them and should you come across a guest who is being particularly tricky to persuade then do not hesitate to contact me. I already have some experience of watching my father deal with difficult clients, so I will try and give you the best advice that I can. Everyone should be _more_ than willing to cooperate”-she senses that there would be trouble if they did not-“But you never know,” he covers himself and as he gives her a bit of a shrug and a half-smile she gives him a full grin in turn. _“What?”_ he is curious now.

“All right,” she tells him, “You have persuaded me.” 

Jumin’s face transforms into one of cautious delight. “I _have?”_ he exclaims, before he goes on hurriedly and before she might be able to change her mind, “That is good news to me Princess. The best that has come to me in a long while.” He touches quickly at where her hand is on his jacket now and she only has time to feel a brush of heat like wet paint on her skin, before he draws it away again, as if he has been burnt. “Sorry,” he adds when he sees that she too looks surprised by the thing. _“Why_ have you gone all red?” He tilts his head now and doesn’t understand. “You’re not getting a cold I hope or changing your mind?” He looks around the room. “These places are not very comfortable or warm at night are they? Perhaps we should bring in a couple of heaters for the party, that way all our temperatures can be much more easily regulated.” 

_“Yes,”_ she sounds a little faint now, “That sounds like a good idea.” 

“You are not changing your mind?” he peers at her inquisitively to double-check. 

_“No.”_

_“Good.”_ He looks pleased by the fact. “I believe then, in that case, this calls for a celebration.” He looks away from her for a moment and she feels happy about the progress that she has managed to make, both with him and personally through agreeing to join the RFA. He hops off the jacket and slides his phone out of his pocket. When she makes to get up and adjust herself he waves a hand at her and urges her, “Please, stay where you are Princess.” She rolls back into a sitting position on his jacket again. 

She watches, as with a half-smile on his face, he turns his back on her and begins to make a phone call. She can only hear the one side of it of course, but that is enough to make her feel nervous and self-conscious. There is a command for a Driver Kim to bring champagne and she gets up, moves quickly across and touches Jumin on the arm. He looks around at her, startled, and ends the call quickly with his driver. 

“MC, is everything all right?” Jumin scans her body with his eyes. “There was no stray nail or anything on the floor? We _really_ should have looked out for things like that, before we sat down,” he is cross with himself. “You are not hurt?” He takes her hands one by one with his free one and examines them carefully. They are unharmed and unblemished thank God. 

_“No.”_ She pulls her hand slowly away from him, before they can tingle too much and her mind can go foggy. “But you shouldn't be disturbing your driver for _this,_ you know? Surely he should be home right now? I don’t know whether he has a family or not, _but”-_

“He has a son,” Jumin informs her. 

“Then he should be with _him,”_ MC bows her head.

“Usually I would agree with you, _but”-_

“I have never even _drunk_ champagne Jumin. I do not know how it will taste. I cannot guarantee that I will enjoy it. The most I’ve ever had since we are under-age, even though I _know_ that everyone still drinks, is fruit wine.” 

“I was not going to give you too much of it. I just thought that it would be a nice thing to have for the occasion. I was not going to get you _drunk.”_ Jumin turns away from her adamantly, but she still sees a flash of his expression, before he does so and he looks hostile and confused. 

“Please don’t take it the wrong way Jumin. I'm grateful for the idea alone”-

“You do not have to worry about Driver Kim,” Jumin gives a low rumble now, “He has been waiting outside for me anyway”-MC’s expression changes a little at that, she’d _forgotten_ that he would have had to have brought Jumin there-“And he is probably glad to have something to do. In any case he is on his way to do it now, so it would look silly if I phoned him again and told him not to go through with the thing. I do not want it to go to waste if he has already made progress in finding a bottle.” MC holds herself back from telling him that he could _always_ just give it as a gift to his driver, for he already seems to be decided on what is going to happen. “Now, please sit down. I have one other phone call to make.” He turns on his heel to her and looks at her levelly. 

“A-All right.” She decides to trust him, but as soon as she hears him on the phone again, this time putting _Seven_ out, she feels ill at ease. 

“Why do you look like that?” he asks her once his phone call has finished and he’s glanced back at her testily. “Have you changed your mind? Do you not _want_ to join the RFA any more? Should I tell Driver Kim that he should have the champagne?” he seems to have read her mind from earlier and waves a hand at her now. 

“No, of _course_ I still want to join,” she’s a little confused about his behaviour-does he think that his actions aren't good enough for her? If so then she can understand why he’s behaving in such a fashion because he’s probably always been good enough for everyone before and is not used to the _uncertainty,_ which the other feeling attracts. But he has _always_ been good enough for her and trying to make it up to him and to reassure him whatever the case is she pats at his jacket. “Come and sit down with me.” He hesitates a moment more, before he tucks his phone away and does so heavily. She grasps just beneath his elbow to support him, afraid that he will tumble backwards. He shrugs her off him. “Sorry,” she mumbles, letting go of him now, “I forgot that you do not like to be touched.” Jumin once again feels confused. He wants to put her hand back on his arm and doesn’t understand _why_ he feels that way. It frustrates him. Why is she always making him feel things that he has never felt before? “You _are_ good enough you know?” she tells him now, reading his expression for something else. “If you weren’t, after all that you have done for me then the fault would be mine alone. My standards would be stupidly high, like Yoosung’s,” she tries to tease, but he’s not having any of it. 

“You have been through so much. I'm not sure if I”-

“We don’t have to have a celebration if you’re tired you know?” She observes how his knees are drawn up to his chest and how there is a conflicted expression upon his face. He glances at her. “I just meant that you’re _bound_ to be by now. I have been for what feels like hours.” 

He wishes that he could do something to ease her tiredness for a moment. “It is not that. I want to and I feel as if we _should_ do something. Nor did I _mean_ to snap at you. Have I _truly_ done enough though?” He looks at her searchingly now. “There were all those times when I saw you wearing a solemn expression at school, when I _knew_ that you were sad, and I wanted to go up to you or at the very _least_ to send you some sort of message. Instead I-I feel like I have turned my back on you and if you had not walked into the RFA meeting in the way that you did tonight then I would have continued to do such a thing.” 

“You have _not_ turned your back on me,” she is adamant with him now, grasping at his hand tightly, her palm close to the back of his knuckles and feeling like she _has_ to do such a thing, whether he likes it or not and _no_ matter the energy that it sends surging through her herself. “You realized the situation was a difficult one, which I appreciated and you donated the money that you did when I held that fundraising event. And I'm forever grateful for that.” 

“Money…” Jumin sounds as if he hates himself in that moment. “Is that _all_ that I am good for? All I can do for you and anyone else in my life? I never want to be in a similar position to what my father is with all his women, but is that what _I_ am destined to have? Is that _all_ I can have? I am the sort of person who used to think that I could throw money at a problem and it would then be fixed,” he muses now, “It did not trouble me, but is it _enough_ any more? Ever since what happened with your mother and we have not been in contact as much I have been left _wondering”-_

_“Jumin…”_ She looks at him sympathetically. His face is wide and open and she suddenly sees the peak of emotion that he seems to have been heading towards all night. Sees the way that her sudden appearance at the RFA meeting has vomited everything back up for him again-the stress and change from losing her mother, a woman _who,_ reading between the lines, had not been as bad as _some_ of the other women in his father’s life, the strain from losing their friendship and then the support of Rika and V to boot who had taken to looking after Rika more no doubt and had less time for Jumin. On top of that he’d had to study hard for the CSAT’s, partake in the exams themselves, do his work for the RFA and no doubt also do anything that his father felt he needed to be doing to ensure that his ascension as director of the family’s company would be a smooth one, one day. All that pressure and all the doubt that he must have faced! Her grip on his hand grows tighter. She feels scared now and she hates herself for being a large source of his pain and for _continuing_ to be one. She would like him to look to her. For her to be able to be _his_ source of strength for once. 

“Am I enough?” he utters at that point. “Am I living my life in the right way? I thought it was right for the _business,_ for the future, but if it isn’t all right for the present then perhaps it is not right in the first place?” 

“Of _course_ you are enough!” she tells him now. “And it is only _natural_ to be doubting yourself. You have gone through some very big changes in the past year and are close to finishing school, so there are more coming.” He does not look comforted by such a thing. She squeezes at his hand. “You can get through it though Jumin,” he stares at her, as if he desperately hopes that her words are true, _“But,_ you should know that, whilst you are going through it all, it is all right to _feel_ Jumin and that I am very sorry to have added to your pain.”

“It is not _your_ fault. You could not have foreseen any of this.” He shakes his head, desperate to relieve her of her burden. 

“You do not need to be ashamed of yourself.” 

He nods at that, but it is perplexedly and as if he is uncertain about whether he should listen to her or carry on in the way that he always has done. _“I”-_

_“Shh.”_

“I don’t like you seeing me this way, so confused when I feel that I have no _right_ to be. I should have everything figured out when compared to you and what you have been through.” She rubs at his hand and once again feels bad for her own role in things. “But what you need to understand is that, I think, I feel happy because of tonight in spite of it all. That I am _able_ to because you are with me. Does that make sense to you?” He looks at her meaningfully now, hoping that she will show him the same level of understanding that she has always done. 

“Of _course_ it does because it’s the same for me,” she tells him with tears in her eyes. His heart leaps for a moment at the fact that they might _actually_ be happy ones. “I'm sorry,” she tells him. He looks alarmed as he surely anticipates that what she will tell him will be a bad thing. “I _know_ you won’t particularly enjoy it, but I have to hug you now.” She draws him into an one-armed embrace and the lining of the jacket shifts beneath them, whilst the wooden floorboards squeak and her arm slides around the back of his neck. Her fingers stroke and toy with the ends of his hair. He lets out a little murmur of perhaps both surprise and appreciation at the fact and fights against his natural instinct, which is that he’s a solitary creature and that _Father_ changes, and not for the better, when he gives into _his_ instincts, so he should be warier in turn, before he _finally_ succumbs to the hug and relaxes into her touch because this is MC and they've _already_ been through him getting to trust her and if he can’t even _relent_ with someone who understands him a little then who can he with any more? Yet he has not been held by anyone so warm and feminine in so long that it takes a moment, before he can _properly_ reciprocate himself and curl his hand tentatively around her hip. She lets out a contented sigh at his touch and it sends a flurry of emotion right through him. He feels like he is trying to work out just _which_ thread of feeling inside of him is the strongest one and leaning on her to try and do such a thing. He almost has his fingers around it and can call it by a possible name-a _name_ that makes him withdraw his head from her slightly in surprise-when she murmurs, “I have to hug you now because once upon a time you made me feel safe. Once upon a time, on the worst night of my life, you were there for me and you made me feel secure and please don’t _ever”-_ she pulls her head back to look at him in a fiery fashion-“Think that money is _all_ you have ever given me. You have blessed me with things that money can’t buy so many times that I have lost count.” He doesn’t know _what_ he feels like when she looks at him in that way. Whatever label he’d started to apply to his feelings flutters off and becomes unknowable to him again. He shifts his hand to her back and stares at her, letting out a bit of a breath when she ducks her head down against his chest. He caresses gently at her back, aware of his _own_ heartbeat and the feel of her against him. He stills his hand and pushes his nose down into her hair, inhaling her deeply. Her hair smells like apple just like her mother’s had done. There is a faint scent of honeysuckle to her skin too and something that is uniquely her beneath all of that. He feels curious about it and would like to be able to smell such a thing better, but is self-aware enough to appreciate that, that might be rude or come across as weird. Her hand moves to rub circles into his back and he grumbles a little incoherently at the thing, before he shifts and groans in pleasure at the more comfortable feeling of someone caring for him. He closes his eyes. Her throat feels dry and she chews on her lip. He buries his head into her hair, so that she cannot properly hear him when he tells her, “I do not know what this is, but now that I have you back in my life again I will not let you go, if I do so at all, until I find out what it is.” 

“What was that Jumin?” She pulls her head back from him.

“A promise.” He looks carefully into her eyes. 

She nods uncertainly at him, before she scrambles back from him when they hear movement coming with a steady speed towards the gallery. _“V-?”_ she questions him quickly. 

“I doubt it,” he disagrees with her, before he goes on to explain, “Whatever V might like to think, as soon as he gets immersed in a painting, whether it is his own or not, he can be staring at it for hours.” She snorts a little at that. Jumin smiles at her now, before he says, _“Ah,_ Driver Kim.” A balding man walks into the gallery carrying flutes of champagne and a purple bowl of chocolate-coated strawberries. Jumin looks at both things approvingly and MC and he both get up, brush themselves swiftly down with one hand and make their way across to him. Driver Kim looks at MC, intrigued she senses and trying to ascertain who she is at the same time. She thinks that he might be a little protective of Jumin too and feels grateful about the thing-the more people Jumin has who genuinely care for him the better in her mind-but a bubble of nerves floats up inside her all the same and suddenly she feels as if she has a _lot_ to live up to. “You are most efficient,” Jumin draws MC out of her thought with his praise for Driver Kim. He looks at her inclusively. “Driver Kim here is never late for anything,” he tells her now and perhaps he sees something in MC’s eyes, for he goes on, _“Ah,_ I have not introduced you properly however. Driver Kim, this is MC, she is the daughter of Chae-Yeong. MC, this is Driver Kim, he has cared for me and taken me back and forth from school and places that I need to go ever since I was little. Quite honestly I think he treats me more kindly than his own son.” Driver Kim laughs a little awkwardly at that and mentions how Jumin feels like a part of his family himself. Embarrassed Jumin takes the things from Driver Kim and passes MC the bowl of strawberries to hold, whilst he keeps hold of the champagne flutes. 

Driver Kim and MC nod at one another respectfully. “It is a pleasure to meet you and if I may say so your mother was _always_ exceptionally kind to me. I was very shocked and sad to hear of her passing.” MC feels a swelling of emotion inside her. “She would always give me little bags of my favourite sweets and she _even_ bought me a joke book called, _‘Jokes on You,’_ one time”-

“That is right,” Jumin carries on the story enthusiastically now, “You must hear the top two worst ones. ‘What kind of bagel can fly?’” MC shakes her head. “ ‘A plain bagel!’” He laughs exaggeratedly at that, as if he is trying to cheer her up and is able to see that even the happy memories of her mother are tinged with pain. “The second one,” Jumin continues quickly when she only smiles a bit, “Is: ‘How does a train eat?’” MC swallows and shakes her head. “ ‘It goes chew chew.’ It is awful right? I blame your mother for introducing Driver Kim to such terrible jokes.” She laughs a little at that and looks at Driver Kim once more. 

“I can see that if you are friends with Mr. Han here then you must possess a similar nature to your mother, _and,_ if I also might say so sir”-he looks at Jumin now with a curve of upturned lips-“It is nice to see that you are not working and looking more relaxed for a change.” Jumin looks surprised by the observation, but as if he doesn’t all too much _mind_ the fact. 

“Thank you for coming tonight,” MC tells the driver, _“And_ for your kind words about my mother. They mean a lot to me.”

Jumin looks at the clear and trembling emotion on MC’s face. He only wants her to be happy and he turns back to Driver Kim with a harder expression. “That will be all Driver Kim.” He will not have anyone upsetting his princess, not even a much-valued employee who he _knows_ does not mean to do any harm in the first place. The men nod at one another now, before the driver departs and leaves them to it. 

“I am worried that he will be too cold in the car,” MC can’t help but comment briskly, as she tries to get herself under control again. 

“He will have the engine on.” Sensing that she does not want to make an issue of what she is feeling in that moment and feeling both grateful and annoyed by the fact he leads the way back to his jacket. MC looks at him as he turns to do the same to her. She feels this great pull in her gut somehow, as if she should be taking up the issue her mother is no longer able to-the matter of caring for Driver Kim. Jumin sighs at the expression upon her face. “If it pleases you,” he murmurs, reading her effectively now, “Then I promise to mention it with my father and see if we cannot make better conditions for our drivers.”

“It is a good start,” MC tells him, pleased with the progress, “But for tonight I don’t think we _should_ stay for very much longer. I have to be getting home anyway.” She doesn’t _truly_ want to be leaving or think about _how_ much more lonely and isolating her apartment will be after all the company that she has had that night, so she settles back down on the jacket again. She picks up a strawberry without further ado and tastes it. It is divine-a burst of sweetness that doesn’t last long enough and leaves her wanting more. She closes her eyes a little, forgetting about home for that moment. 

Jumin, who had felt a bit uneasy about her wanting to leave so soon and about the fact that she’d cared so much for Driver Kim, finds that the words that he’d been intending to say die in his mouth as he stares at her. Her lips are fastened around the strawberry and he feels an odd sensation pooling low inside of him. He grunts a little and arches his back, trying to get rid of it for it makes him feel a bit hazy and stupid. 

She opens her eyes in that moment and looks a little bit puzzled at seeing him still standing there. “What is it? Why aren't you joining me?” She pats at the jacket again and he finds that he rather _hopes_ that there will be a trace of chocolate or strawberry left behind on it, as a reminder of the night and the fact that it had actually happened. He thinks that it might be hard for him to believe it in the morning. 

“Of course.” As he sits down he tries not to ruin any stain that might be there and can feel himself pinkening, as she studies him. He feels a little bit foolish for wanting to keep any trace of her upon his jacket when she is right there in front of him. Hadn't they been talking about the present and how important it is? Instead of practicing that lesson though he is already miserably contemplating the time when she will have left him in the future. She smiles sweetly at him now, a thread of the red strawberry in between her teeth and he feels himself relaxing and growing less cross. What is it about her that provokes such a reaction inside of him? 

“You should really try a strawberry,” she plucks one out for him. 

“Only if you _promise_ to try the champagne,” he murmurs, looking forward to seeing how she will find the taste. 

_“Deal!”_ She smiles brightly, ridding the strawberry of its stem and tossing it aside, before she holds the red fruit out to him for inspection. 

He takes it from her carefully, lowering his head and easing the fruit slowly between his lips. He grazes at it with his teeth, but cannot help but look at her, as she watches him. There is something very cute about her waiting for his reaction like that. Her face grows red and he wonders why she is blushing again, but finds it more amusing this time. She looks away and clears her throat just as he lets out a low chuckle. He eats the rest of the strawberry quickly, before he nudges her glass of champagne towards her, keen to watch her just as intently. 

She nods and carefully lifts it, holding it to her nose and sniffing it. The bubbles jump out like piranha fish, making her nose twitch and wriggle, before she takes a bit of a breath and drinks. Watching her excites him and he finds himself holding his _own_ breath as he watches the passage of the drink fall down the inside of her throat. She closes her eyes. Her shoulders relax and it is a long moment before her eyes finally flicker open. “It’s good,” she murmurs, her voice sounding a little thick now, “It makes me feel alive. Just like the present.” She gives him a smile. 

“Driver Kim knows only to bring the best,” he is relieved that it suits her palette and tries to cover up his own reaction to her words, even though she seems oblivious to such a thing and could not possibly have felt the way that his heart had jumped. 

She takes a few more sips, almost slurping at it like a cat and he feels like he might say or do something _when-_

“Echo, echo, is anyone here?”

MC had not heard _anyone_ creeping up on them and nearly drops the flute of champagne. Jumin helps her steady the glass with a bit of a breath and then removes where his fingers have become crumpled over and in between her own. He looks across in annoyance as Seven enters the gallery. 

The teen grins a little beneath his messy vermilion hair when he sees them, looking suddenly wide awake and alert, as he wears a dark hoodie with yellow embellishment on over his school uniform. Orange headphones hang around his neck. “Even though the pair of you looked chummy earlier I didn't realize you were _so_ close.” He makes straight for them now. “Did you make me come here to cover up V’s death, so you two could canoodle?” MC’s face grows all the redder at that. 

“I do not know what this, ‘canoodle,’ you speak of means?” Jumin points out to Seven tersely now, “But you should not speak so lightly of V’s death.” It would be a change too far for Jumin if such a thing ever happened MC knows and she worries about how dark and desperate his mind is getting because of everything that she has helped to dredge up that night. “Do you have what I requested you to bring?” Jumin gets the question out like a bullet being fired. 

“Yeah, yeah, wait a moment.” Seven stops in front of them, still with a bit of a wicked grin on his lips and slides the black rucksack off his back. He does so, whilst his eyes look around. _“Still,_ whatever you say, this is a nice place Jumin and you’ve never had champagne with _me_ before. Could it be that you want to impress her?” Seven looks slyly at Jumin. MC cannot help but look at him also. She finds that she is holding her breath.

“We went ahead because it was only _us_ two present when MC made the decision to join the RFA. I would have rung around everyone else, but it is late and they seemed to have already made plans.” Even to his own ears the words sound like a hollow excuse and he _knows,_ he can feel his heart wriggling guiltily like a fish on a hook, that he would not have phoned the others no matter _what_ it had seemed like. He would have wanted to keep MC to himself just like he _still_ wants to keep doing so. MC calms herself down. “In any case if you would stop abusing my cat”- Jumin glares at Seven now and Seven looks at him a little knowingly, only aware of _what,_ Jumin doesn’t know, and that annoys him too. 

“I do _not_ abuse her. I just shower with love.” Thankfully Jumin’s words seem to have distracted Seven-or the distraction is at _least_ something that he goes along with-and now he drops his bag and does a couple of spins. “She’s just so soft and fluffy and when I hold her like this”-he stretches his arms out-“And spin her, all of her fur”-

“I will not listen to this any more. Do you have the papers?” Jumin says abruptly at the same time that MC stifles a giggle at Seven’s antics, which the cat owner finds to be most irritating. He _knows_ that it sounds pathetic but _he_ should be the only one to make her laugh in such a way. He gestures that Seven should hand the documents over quickly to them when the other boy stops mid-spin and looks at him. 

_“Someone’s_ in a rush.” Seven stoops down now to open his bag and Jumin visibly recoils at the odd vapour that drifts out from it. It is stale and like hot Honey Buddha Chips-Jumin _knows_ what they smell like because Seven had tried to microwave them one time when they’d been rushed off their feet getting ready for another party and the prankster had been hungry. It also smells like copper wires. It is revolting. Jumin draws an arm up over his nose, only lowering it again when Seven, taking a deliberately long time, Jumin senses, and making it so that Jumin’s heart is coiled up anxiously inside of his chest, finally pulls the papers out from the midst of his cluttered bag. He hands them to MC who looks at them in surprise. 

“I thought they were for _you?”_ She glances at Jumin now. 

“There is a confidentiality agreement there for you to sign regarding joining the RFA,” he explains to her, “Along with some necessary health information that you will have to give up for your own protection and a contact number for someone should there be an emergency. I am _not_ expecting anything, but you can put me down for that.” He nods at her in a business-like fashion. 

_“Confidentiality?_ This is _very_ serious.” Joining the RFA seems to have gone up another level for her. 

“We are linked to serious organizations and businesses. _All_ of which are trusting us to help make the bridge between them and our students. It is a _very_ serious job.” He hopes that she is not backing out now and looks at her with a furrowed brow, just wanting to get the thing signed and done with. 

She sees the way that he is observing her and can’t help but remember how desperately he had looked at her before and how _vulnerable_ he’d been then, letting his emotions be uncovered to her for those few moments. It had been like in all the time they've been apart she’s somehow been managing to chip away and burrow beneath his armour without her even _realizing_ that she was able to do such a thing. She wants to understand _how_ she’s somehow managed to do it. Letting out a little breath she _knows_ that she cannot back out now and _especially_ since Jumin has inconvenienced so many people for it. “All right, has anyone got a pen?” she asks. 

Seven instantly rummages in his bag. Jumin seems annoyed by the act and has MC shift her position on the jacket a little, so that he can have access to the pen that he normally keeps in the manufactured inside pocket that comes with the boy’s version of the school uniform. It is rather sexist, he knows, and no doubt meant to ready them all to grow up as perfect little businessmen. In the end, at the same time as Seven holds out a slightly chewed looking Bic pen, Jumin whips out a diamond studded black and gold pen. 

“It was my father’s latest gift to me,” Jumin explains now when Seven and MC look at it somewhat agog. Jumin is pleased that the lighting in the room sets off the diamonds nicely and hopes that MC is suitably impressed, even though he wouldn’t _normally_ wish for people to be enamoured by such things. 

“Are they”-

_“Real_ diamonds?” MC finishes off Seven’s question now. He looks pleased by her doing such a thing, but Jumin meanwhile just looks frustrated. 

He tries to answer her question coolly, but cannot help answering it all the same. “It is hard to tell what is _real_ and fake with diamonds. You can guarantee that my father probably _paid_ the price of the real amount though.” 

“It _is_ a nice pen,” MC acknowledges, despite the fact that she is not too sure about the cost that has been spent on it. “And it was very nice of your father to give you a gift like that.” She knows that what with his up and down behaviour Jumin might feel offended if she does not use his pen that night and slides it out of his hand. Jumin cannot help the triumphant smirk that comes onto his face. Seven mumbles something incoherently and replaces the Bic pen back inside his rucksack. MC hopes that he’s not offended. 

“I am glad that you have chosen it. My father wants me to use it when I go off to college.” MC remembers that he will be leaving them soon and doesn’t know _how_ she feels about such a thing. “I am honoured that you will be able to use it for this first however.” He shuffles the papers now and slides them in front of her tidily, wishing that Seven had taken the time to staple them, but thinking that he probably wouldn’t have done it in the right way in any case. MC scrutinizes all of the papers. The weight of the pen and her decision are something that she constantly feels in her hand and heart. Can she _really_ be a good member of the RFA, keep it all from her family and _still_ get decent enough grades? Can she be the person that Jumin _needs_ her to be and that she _wants_ to be for him to boot? As she gets to the last page and reaches the place where she is meant to sign however she can _feel_ the tinge of apprehension in the air that comes particularly from Jumin and looks up at him. _‘I want you to sign that contract and stay with me, for there is no end date. Just say that you will do that much for me and for yourself,’_ he seems to be telling her, though perhaps she is imagining such words. Whatever the case she feels that she should do something _more_ elaborate and flourishing with her signature to mark the occasion, but in the end just opts for her usual squiggle. 

“Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Han. You are now married,” Seven pulls the documents away from her and she splutters from his words. If looks could kill then Seven would already be dead from the gaze that Jumin is shooting him and then several times over from _daring_ to look at MC in a teasing fashion. “You may now kiss the bride, which means you have to kiss Jumin, MC, because does Jumin Han is gay?”

_“Does_ Jumin Han is gay?” MC looks at Jumin quizzically now. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Nothing that comes out of that cat abuser’s mouth ever does. Just ignore him,” Jumin tells her, raking a hand through his hair, ruffling it and looking _thoroughly_ unamused. He does think of _something_ however, “If we _ever_ got married then I hope that my father would gift me another pen, this time with more diamonds on it, for us to sign our wedding contract with.” MC looks at him in surprise now, wondering where _that_ had come from and feeling a little shudder inside her chest. 

Seven mumbles quickly that she should pass him her phone, so that he can install the app on it, _also_ looking a bit unnerved about Jumin’s behaviour. 

*

707 has entered the chatroom. 

707: If you are still worrying about MC not having anyone Yoosung then you shouldn't. 

Yoosung: _Huh?_ Do you _know_ something Seven?

Jaehee: Doesn't he _always?_

707: I am going to pretend that, that wasn’t typed with a bit of sarcasm Jaehee. 

Jaehee: You can pretend, but that doesn’t stop it from being true. 

Yoosung: _Ouch!_ Did you get in touch with V? Did _he_ say something? 

707: He didn't need to. I saw it with my own eyes-MC and our very own Jumin Han getting cosy over some champagne and some chocolate-coated strawberries. Jumin even started talking about marriage at one point. 

Zen: _WHAT?!_ [Screen shakes.]

Yoosung: Was he laughing a lot and making weird jokes like he used to do with Rika?

707: He looked a bit more serious than that, but he said that if MC and he were ever to get married then he’d want his father to give them a nice, shiny, expensive pen to sign their wedding contract with.

Zen: That-That _jerk!_ She’s not even in the organization yet and he’s already trying to convert her to be another one of those girls who fawn after him and keep her all to himself. 

Yoosung: He _did_ start to act really differently after MC burst into the room though. _And_ she seemed to like him in a weird way too. She kept putting in a good word for him when we spoke earlier. 

Zen: _Whatever._ I don’t know what _any_ of those girls see in him, _that’s_ my point. 

Zen: Shouldn't we be doing something to stop all this? To stop her being brainwashed or whatever? Maybe it’s not a good idea for her to join our organization if Jumin is going to be all over her. What’s with him not being a robot like I thought he was?

Jaehee: Without exaggerating too far I think they _bonded_ during the time that MC’s mother dated Chairman Han. 

Zen: _Bonded?_ Urgh! That _jerk!_

Yoosung: What’s with _‘bonded,’_ being all in italics? Jaehee, do you know anything about all of this?

707: Doesn't she always?

Jaehee: [Angry emoji]

Zen: Yeah, how far do her feelings go? Is it already too late? Has he _already_ corrupted her?

Jaehee: You’d have to ask _her_ about that, and please calm down Zen, I don’t think that you need to panic. I trust my friend and I am sure that she knows what she’s doing. 

Zen: _Well,_ I think _someone_ should warn her what that trust fund kid is _really_ like, before she gets in too deep with thinking that he’s one way when he definitely isn’t. _And_ shouldn't that be _our_ job? Or at least _yours_ Jaehee? The rest of us don’t know her all that well. You probably know how to handle it best. 

707: I interrupt Zen’s despair to bring you all some breaking news. This entire time you’ve been assuming that MC isn’t part of the RFA, when, in actual fact she is. 

Yoosung: _WHAT??_ [Screen shakes.] You’ve known that the _whole_ time? Why didn't you tell us?? 

707: I took the papers over to the gallery and she signed them tonight. I later put the app on her phone. Me being there was how I got to see our little…

707: Lovebirds?

707: Cutie-pies?

707: Sweethearts?

Yoosung: Um, we get the message and I am _so_ jealous right now. Why can’t _I_ be the one to get a girlfriend? Why couldn't someone who wasn’t already taken join the RFA if anyone had to?

Zen: That’s not the point. And she’s _not_ taken, but that stupid trust fund kid! MC needs to be warned about him!! 

Yoosung: No, I think the point if there is one is why didn't we get the chance to vote, or at least _discuss,_ MC joining the RFA?

Zen: Like _you_ would have turned her down after she, _‘accompanied’_ you home tonight.

Yoosung: Are you bitter Zen?

Yoosung: [Questioning, tilted head emoji.]

Yoosung: But you’re right, I would have let her join. She was _really_ sweet to me.

707: Before she ran off to meet her boyfriend Jumin Han. 

Zen: Quit saying that already! _Urgh!_ That just sounds so wrong! Am I the _only_ one who thinks that we should probably intervene here? Jaehee, like I said, can’t you say _something_ to her? There must be _something_ that you could tell her that would change her mind about how she views the trust fund kid.

Jaehee: Calm down Zen. I'm a little bit worried that you’re going to have a heart attack.

Zen: Heart attack? At least I’ve _got_ a heart. 

Jaehee: [Exasperated emoji.] 

Jaehee: You probably don’t have anything to worry about and we’ll probably all be able to talk to her properly soon. I'm sure that MC wouldn’t have been able to stay very long with Jumin. She had her Hagwon to get to in any case and as far as I know she’s never even drank any alcohol. I'm sure that she was sensible in the situation. 

707: Not sure if this particular news should be broken, but neither of them looked in very much of a rush to me. It looked like they had all night. I _literally_ just got away. If MC had her Hagwon to get to then _surely_ she should have been there by now? _Oh,_ and Jaehee, Jumin had barely touched his glass of champagne, but MC’s was almost empty…

Jaehee: Are you _sure_ about that? They couldn't have been in different positions? 

707: Crystal. Unless Jumin wears very faint lip-gloss, which I would be very happy with since that would mean I have another cross-dressing friend, but I doubt that he does. I’ve never seen any evidence of it before. 

Jaehee: …

Jaehee: _Okay,_ I’ll have a word with her about it all in the morning in that case, but we need to be careful about how we handle all of this. MC is still very fragile because of what happened with her mother before. I don’t want to upset her, which means _Zen,_ no bursting in like a bull in the china shop if I choose to go more quietly on this, okay?

Zen: I can’t make any promises…sorry Jaehee. 

Yoosung: Won’t MC be able to read this conversation if she now has the app installed on her phone? 

Yoosung: [Questioning, tilted head emoji.] 

Zen: Seven dude-you can delete this one chat right? 

707: _Nope._

Zen: Only this one?

707: See above. The answer has not changed. 

Yoosung: OMG! I can’t even remember what I said earlier! MC, I am so, so sorry if I said anything to offend you. It’s just-we’re all worried about you, okay? We want you to be able to fit into the organization without any trouble. 

Zen: Which you’ll get if you keep hanging around with that jerk.

Yoosung: _Zen!!_

Zen: Just being honest. She’s welcome to hang out with the rest of us. 

Jaehee: I'm sure she’d like the freedom to decide such a thing for herself…

Yoosung: Yeah. I can’t believe you just said that. If Jumin really _is_ interested in her then he’s going to be so mad with you. 

Zen: Who cares? He needs to know that I’ve got my eye on him. 

Yoosung: Um, so what was I saying? Oh yeah, and I want you- _MC_ -to be without any trouble, so that we can all help hold an awesome graduation party. 

707: I’ve gotta dash. 

Yoosung: Seven, where are you going? 

707 has left the chatroom. 

Zen: That Seven…

Yoosung: So mysterious…

Jaehee: I’ve got to be going too, so goodnight, and if you’re reading this MC then I’ll speak to you tomorrow. 

Yoosung: Jaehee’s sounding more and more like my mom every day. It’s scary. 

Yoosung has left the chatroom. 

Jaehee: [Exasperated emoji.]

Jaehee has left the chatroom. 

Zen: Jumin Han I am watching you! 

Zen has left the chatroom.


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for your support! It is much appreciated. :3

When MC finally gets home that night, thankfully at a time that she can get away with, it is to find that her brother is the only one there. Her father must be doing an extra shift at the fried chicken shop. 

Bo-Seon does his usual thing of nodding at her and analysing her with his eyes. She tries to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of him assessing her, made more so by the fact that she has been with Jumin for a lot of the evening and helps herself to some remnants of dinner. Bo-Seon has already eaten, but food is not something that he feels a young South Korean male like himself should be turning down and he joins her greedily.

For a moment they go about things in silence, and _then,_ amongst all the clinking of the cutlery, she summons up enough courage to look at him and say, _“Ah.”_ She touches at her wrist now and Bo-Seon looks at her curiously. “I seem to have left my watch in the library. I was doing a mock-test and took it off in order to time myself without having to look up at the clock all the while.” This is something that she’d come up with quickly on the way home-Jumin had insisted on giving her a lift via Driver Kim and had thankfully been persuaded to drop her off a couple of streets away after she’d had his number from him and had promised that she would text him, as soon as she’d gotten home. She’d done such a thing outside of the apartment. “Do you have another one? I will try and find it tomorrow, _but”-_

Bo-Seon breaks out into a bit of a grin, which makes her stomach slosh with nerves. She wonders if he is happy that he has the chance to lecture her, to look like the perfect son in front of their father again [‘Do you know what my sister told me tonight?’ she imagines him saying when their father gets home. Once he’d explained that he’d continue: ‘And then she had the nerve to ask me for _another_ one instead of taking proper responsibility for the first. She is becoming spoilt-spoilt and selfish-we should do something about that.’] MC feels sick by her imaginations and almost _jumps_ when Bo-Seon scrapes his chair back. He gives her another look and chuckles slightly, as if he senses that she is afraid of him. She curses him lowly underneath her breath, thankfully not loud enough for him to hear as he marches quickly to his orderly bedroom. To her surprise he returns swiftly with a diamond-shaped watch, which reminds her of Jumin’s pen and makes her feel incredibly guilty for always doubting and thinking the worst of her brother. 

_“Here,”_ he shows it to her now, coming close enough that she can smell his strong and musky cologne. It prickles at her nose _more_ so than Jumin’s had done. He shows her the thin strap of leather that the watch is fastened on. With its silver blue-white face it looks _far_ more elegant and feminine than her _last_ watch had done. “I was going to give it to you on your next birthday,” he tells her, “That old watch of yours was falling apart. I would not bother looking for it. Think of it as an early graduation present.” As he fastens it tightly upon her wrist she understands the threat-that she is to keep her head down for the next year so that she can graduate and not go upsetting their father with any mention of doing any more fundraising. She nods, as his eyes, almost indistinct from the night, fix on hers. 

“I will continue to work hard Brother,” she promises him.

“See that you do,” he warns her, “And be more careful with your possessions. I will wait for Father to return in my room. Once you are done here don’t forget to clean up.” She nods at him. He makes to turn away, but then he does the strangest thing of all-he goes back to her and ruffles her hair just like he’d done occasionally when they’d been younger. It is almost teasing and fierce, but there is something tender about it as well and it makes MC’s stomach dip down all the more. He flashes her a smile and then swivels around, disappearing into his room. 

She stares after him for a moment and then pushes her plate away. She doesn’t feel hungry any more, just sick about what she has done that night and promised her brother. If he finds out that she’s _already_ broken her promise-the same promise that had no doubt _made_ him carry out that rare gesture of affection in the first place-then he will be furious and probably act as if she has betrayed him. He won’t _hesitate_ to tell their father-and then _Jumin…_ She should have walked out of the RFA meeting, whilst she’d had the chance to! She should have stayed away from him! Instead she’s joined the RFA and gotten herself into _God_ knows what. The only thing that she knows is that she will have to keep it from her family at _all_ costs, for it will be a lot worse than the reaction she’d had to the fundraising event if she doesn’t. _Still,_ her stomach wriggles uncertainly now as she tries to console herself, it had been _more_ than nice to see Jumin properly that night and maybe her time with the RFA will only last a few days anyway. If it is _that_ much of a hassle then she can quit after Jumin graduates and she won’t have to worry about her father or brother seeing him with her either then. Jumin will be busy with college and won’t have the _time_ to try and look after her welfare. She feels a bit sad about having to go back to not really knowing him again, but she supposes that it can’t _really_ be helped. Fate clearly had other ideas in bringing them together this late…

*

At school the next day she is supposedly meant to be swapping her books around for her first lesson, but _really_ she is just mulling things over and wondering if she will see Jumin that day-if they don’t have much time left then she’d like to make the most of it-when a shadow appears by her side. 

Frowning slightly MC adjusts the door of her locker and smiles when she sees Jaehee stood there. “I heard congratulations are in order for you joining the RFA last night,” her tone is surprisingly cool now, but she passes her the morning coffee that looks bitter and more to Jaehee’s taste with the Ethiopian beans that she has managed to get hold of rather than the slightly sweeter version that MC would prefer.

“Ah, yeah, thanks.” MC takes the cardboard cup gingerly from her. “For this too.” She holds the cup aloft and then sips obligingly at it. The strength of it hits her straight away and she purses her lips. “Did Seven mention about me joining the RFA?” 

“He might have said so, along with some other things.” MC feels a little nervous. “Sorry for the extra-strength today,” Jaehee gestures at the coffee, “I wasn’t quite sure if you’d be in on time, what with your busy night last night and I wanted to be able to enjoy it if you weren’t able to.” 

“It’s fine,” MC is short with her and on edge as she senses that her friend isn’t particularly happy with her that morning. _“What_ other things?” she asks her now, before she takes another sip and winces somewhat from the heat of it.. 

“Something about Jumin being at the gallery last night and how you _seemed_ to be having a nice time with him _rather_ than carrying out your other responsibilities.” 

“Oh, right,” MC dives back into her coffee now and drains it, wishing that the topic wasn’t that _one,_ before she tosses the empty cup into the trash can that’s nearby. She ignores the painful way that her mouth stings because of her quick actions.

“You don’t deny it then?”

MC turns her attention back to her locker. “It was nothing, really. It sounds like Seven was exaggerating”-

“So you _made_ it to your Hagwon in time then?” Jaehee says in the same way that MC’s mother might have done had she ever had the chance to in this circumstance. MC wishes that Jaehee _wouldn’t_ take on the role. 

“Not exactly no, but you see I _had_ to stay at the gallery, _I”-_

“Thought you said that nothing important happened?” Jaehee counters her, as if she is simply blocking her enemy in judo from doing anything that might be able to hurt her. “Anyway, you should have at _least_ been helping V out more than it sounds like you were and you _should_ have gone to your Hagwon. Your father is paying for it and no doubt doing extra work, so that you _are_ able to go.” 

MC thinks guiltily of the extra-shift that her father _had_ done the previous night. She is defensive in front of Jaehee however. “Why don’t you just come right out and say it?” Jaehee’s eyebrows rise at her. “That you’re disappointed in me? It was a one-off thing. I wasn’t exactly _delighting_ in the fact that I skipped the Hagwon and joining the RFA only puts all the more pressure on me”-

“Then maybe you should pull out of it?” Jaehee looks at her sternly. MC’s heart skips a beat in fear. “But you won’t, will you? Because of _him?”_ she hisses. 

“I don’t know _what”-_

“I think you _do,_ and you _know_ that _I_ could have benefited from a Hagwon _myself,_ but my aunt and uncle won’t pay for it _because,_ like I have told you before, my aunt wants me to get a job as soon as I'm done here”-

“Is _that_ why you’re cross with me? Because I have something that _you_ don’t? Of _course_ you’ll be going to college”-

“I will hopefully, but it’s not a _certainty_ MC. I'm cross because I thought you were _better_ than this. I thought that even _though_ you had both of your parents until recently we were the same. Troubled, but driven. _That’s_ why I trusted that if you joined the RFA it would help propel you to greater heights and that you _wouldn’t_ be distracted by the first boy who you”- 

“Is everything all right?” another voice comes smoothly just as MC is daring Jaehee with her eyes to continue. She is so distracted by what has just been said that the smell of sandalwood infuses her nostrils, before she is able to place the voice entirely as Jumin’s. His hand quickly wraps itself around her waist and he peers down at her concernedly.

“Yeah, _I”-_ MC does not know what to say to him. She finds herself staring at Jaehee and not even _recognizing_ her any more, whilst the feeling of having done the wrong thing the previous night floods her and she feels all cold on the inside. The only warmth is Jumin’s hand on her waist. Has she threatened her relationship with her family and Jaehee _just_ because she’d made the choice that she had done last night? She’d thought that if Jaehee could never understand her fully she would have _tried_ to a bit more at least, before being as blunt as she had been. MC had confided in her. She’d _told_ her that she loved Jumin. He wasn’t just some other boy to her. Apparently that hadn’t meant anything.

“MC is getting distracted and _already_ losing sight of what should be her priority,” Jaehee tells Jumin now. “She didn't attend her Hagwon last night. I'm worried that we have made the _wrong_ decision to invite her into the RFA. Maybe, as V’s friend, and presumably _that_ being the _reason_ that you were at the gallery last night, to help your _friend,_ you could have a word with him later about it all? I will have to take on the extra work for the party myself and finish off contacting people.” Again she looks at MC disappointedly. 

“I can handle it”- MC begins frustratedly, but Jumin squeezes at her waist, telling her to let him speak instead. 

“She was a little concerned that she _wouldn’t_ be able to concentrate. _That’s_ the only reason why she failed to attend her Hagwon last night and I presume that you _already_ know why I attended the gallery-to help our newest member settle in-so I’d appreciate it, and I'm sure that MC would feel the same, if you could be upfront about the matter.” 

“She wasn’t a member then and it wasn’t just so that you could _ensure_ that she joined?” Jaehee questions and Jumin looks at her with narrowed eyes. 

“I will help MC with anything that she needs”- 

“I think that you helping her might _be_ the problem.” Jumin gives Jaehee an icy stare in response to her words, but she returns it just as coldly. 

“You will _not_ take her from me now.” Jumin’s fingers tighten around MC. 

“Jumin, _I”-_ MC breaks off in a cough. 

Jumin looks at her at once. “I hope you are not getting a cold,” he tells her, before he goes on more roughly, “I _told_ you that the gallery was no good for preventing things like that. We need to get a couple of heaters for the party”-he looks back at Jaehee again-“Possibly even _four,_ so that there is one in every corner. Maybe _that_ is something you can do for us?” 

“Possibly,” Jaehee is cool with him. 

“In any case we should probably talk about more pleasant or business-like matters, as people are beginning to stare.” 

“They are now that _you’ve_ come along.” Jaehee stares at where Jumin’s hand is clamped on MC’s waist, her gaze full of displeasure.

“You don’t seem to approve of my relationship with MC, Jaehee Kang?” 

_“Jumin”-_

“I suppose I am wondering what the context of it is and what _you_ in particular are hoping to get out of it.” Jaehee gives MC a long look now because she already _knows_ what she more than likely wants to receive-Jumin’s love and affection. As romantic as that is Jaehee would like it if her friend _weren’t_ so hasty. “I am concerned,” she confesses, “We are relying on MC, even as a new member, to contribute and to pull her weight. If she is _already_ missing something that she would usually go to then it doesn’t bode well for the future. I am just trying to do what’s best for us.” 

“I am sure that MC will be _more_ than adequate,” Jumin glowers, his hand still tight around MC’s waist. 

“Saying that, I'm concerned too,” another voice comes and this time it’s _Zen_ who makes an appearance, boxing them all in around MC’s locker. 

Jumin looks at him dismissively. “Forgive me if we do not take the words of a thief and someone who is always skipping out on their responsibilities seriously when they decide to lecture _us_ about slacking off. MC had a break for a couple of hours, as did _I”-_

“But MC, _unlike_ you, is not so close to graduation. She _still_ has her important exams ahead of her and _needs_ to concentrate and work hard for them if she wishes to do well,” Jaehee comes out with. “Unless you believe that all wives should be trophy ones and _not_ have a career for themselves?” Her eyebrows rise at Jumin now. 

_“Jaehee,_ that is going too far…” 

“Or perhaps it just makes you uncomfortable because you _know_ that there is some truth in it?” Jaehee turns her gaze on her at the same time that Jumin says comfortingly, “It is all right Princess,” he jostles MC by his side and Zen pulls a face at what he has just called her, “And of _course_ I don’t believe in that.” 

_“Good,”_ Zen says now, and Jumin shifts his position as he looks at him, “But MC needs to be aware of what she’s getting into all the same”- Jumin makes a scoffing sound and MC feels like her guard is immediately up. She has _enough_ people who would happily lecture her about how she should _not_ see or speak to Jumin Han again. That list now unfortunately seems to include her best friend and she does not need yet _another_ contributor. “What are you even doing here anyway?” Zen turns his gaze on Jumin. “I was checking in with V this morning”-the turquoise haired teen had _finally_ rung him back, but Zen is not about to tell them how difficult it had been to get in touch with him in the first place-“And he told me that there’s no graduation rehearsal today. You don’t even _have_ to be here. Do you just like school that much? Or perhaps it’s not _that,_ that you like?” His eyes revert back to MC now. “It’s kind of suspicious that he’s come in at all, don’t you think? Almost like he’s trying to control you. You should know”- 

“Why do you all hate him so much? What’s he _ever_ done to you?” MC begins to lose it a little and the pleasanter memories of the night before start to fade. 

“Don’t get stressed about it jagiya. I'm just”-

_“Don’t_ call her that”- Jumin warns the other boy dangerously, letting go of MC a little and stepping closer to Zen.

“Why? _See?”_ Zen turns his attention dismissively away from Jumin and back to MC again, “This is what I mean. If you are not on, _‘Team Jumin’”-_ he does air quotes with his fingers-“Then that doesn’t sit well with someone as rich as him. He’ll take advantage of you and flatter you until he can _buy_ your loyalty just like he’s done with the rest of his little fan club members”- 

_“Zen,”_ MC protests. 

“You are only jealous that my fan club has more members than yours”- Jumin tells him pettily, his voice reaching over MC’s.

_“Jumin!”_ MC can’t help but think that he’s just made everything worse.

“They’re after your money, _not_ you,” Zen carries on, “At least with _me_ there’s nothing they can take and their affection comes from a _genuine_ place”-

“Is _that_ what you think?” Jumin remarks to him testily, whilst MC lets out a groan. Jumin goes on, “If MC _is,_ as you have claimed, _my_ fan, then I hope that you will respect her taste.” 

“Of _course_ I will. I just don’t want her going in and following you blindly.” 

“I'm _not,_ and right now I don’t feel like either _one_ of your fans”-

“We will have to get to know one another again.” Jumin acknowledges the fact that MC is despairing and wraps his arm more tightly around her waist, before he goes on, “But I know her _enough_ to be _sure_ that she is not enjoying the way that you are speaking for her.” 

“And she is enjoying the way that _you_ are?” Zen’s eyebrows rise at him. 

“I don’t like the way that _either_ of you are,” MC says, but once again she is ignored.

“I am merely pointing out a fact,” Jumin says to Zen now. “Everything I know about MC has led me to believe that she _wouldn’t_ enjoy the confrontation you are providing for us.” 

_“A-ha,”_ a different voice calls, before anyone else can say anything and Seven and Yoosung join them, “I _thought_ I heard your dulcet tones. What’s happening?” Seven probably _knows_ that Zen and Jumin have been arguing, but _unlike_ Yoosung who looks tense about the fact Seven looks like he may have _expected_ such a thing.

“He’s trying to turn MC into one of his brainless fan club members,” Zen reports, “He doesn’t even _have_ to be in school today.” 

Seven looks at Jumin with a mock sort of concern about his face. “Are you ill? I thought you’d be using this opportunity to spend time with Elly?”

“Her name is Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin replies, as if Seven is severely testing his patience. 

_“Exactly,_ though,” Zen picks up the cause, “He _should_ be spending time with her instead of getting his maid to send him photos of her all the time and everyone to do _more_ work for him, but instead he’s here and trying to infiltrate MC’s mind”-

“That’s _enough!”_ MC finally breaks through, “All I want to do is to get to know Jumin again and help the RFA. I do not _need_ any of you to give me your permission, but _Zen,”_ she lets out a huff of breath now, “If you find that so offensive then I want to know more about _why_ you do. One-on-one.”

“The car park after school?” Zen suggests, as Jumin’s mouth drops open. 

“Sounds all right to me,” MC obliges. 

“But MC has self-study,” Jaehee says at the same time that Jumin reveals curtly, “That will not be necessary. She will not be going.” MC looks at them both grimly now, as it appears that they both agree with another for a change. They look surprised too and glance at one another. 

“I won’t be _able_ to concentrate if I study when everyone is like this. I _know_ that you’re just trying to help and be a good friend to me, but I need to sort this all out first,” she tells Jaehee, hoping that her friend will give her the opportunity to see how the other members of the RFA view Jumin at least. 

Jumin however has a problem of his _own_ and says just as the bell goes for homeroom, “You don’t _need_ to waste your time with Zen, MC. There’s no point in the thing. You probably won’t get the answers that you crave anyway. I told you”-he meets her eyes now, before he looks off to the side of her-“His dislike of me is irrational.” 

“You’ve been trying to pollute her mind against us already?” Zen is outraged. 

“The car park. I’ll be there,” MC tells him firmly with a bit of heat in her tone, but also one that tells him that he should get going _now_ if he knows what’s good for him. 

Zen nods at her and then goes off, his ponytail swishing behind him and a bit of a bounce in his step. He seems vindicated by the fact that she is not dismissing him as easily as Jumin is. 

“Yoosung, tell Zen if you see him later that MC _won’t_ be coming and that she was too hasty with her words just now,” Jumin says only moment later.

“What are you so afraid of?” MC looks at Jumin desperately, her eyes searching into his and she pulls away from him a little so that she can do it properly. 

“No way I'm getting involved in all of this,” Yoosung mutters. His hands rise and he edges around them, before he scurries off. Seven gives both MC and Jumin a look of intrigue and slopes off as well. 

“I don’t see why you _have_ to bother to talk to him?” Jumin points out to her, before he elaborates, “I _know_ you’ve got this thing about everyone getting along with one another Princess, and I like you for that, I really do, it’s an admirable quality, but you’re not going to get _some_ people to change their minds about me. I have _tried_ to be nice to him in the past, but Zen just refuses me and it is my job to protect you from people like that.”

“Protect me or protect _you_ from having to deal with me knowing _more_ about you?” she asks him a little challengingly, before she goes on more gently, “I won’t let him put me off you Jumin.” She’d picked up on the fact that he’d seemed vulnerable when he’d told Jaehee that she wouldn’t take MC away from him earlier. “No one could _ever_ do such a thing. I’ll still be here for you, but I need to do this for myself. I won’t be able to _relax_ if I don’t find out these answers and why he’s taken so against you. I just can’t understand it.” He looks at her for a long moment and then he nods, his face finally softening. She lets out a sigh of relief at the idea that he might finally understand. 

“If one conversation between you and Zen can ease some of the tensions in the RFA then I am _all_ for it, but I want you to _try_ and be sensible about all of this MC”- Jaehee insets herself back into the conversation once more.

“And by that you mean not be friends with _me_ again I take it?” Jumin interrupts and suddenly they are at it again. MC looks between them in a maddening fashion.

“That would be best I feel, yes,” Jaehee looks at him levelly, “If this is the effect that you are going to have on her and since you will be graduating soon _anyway…_ I am not saying however that I am not _willing_ to support the friendship between the two of you further down the line, but after this incident then maybe MC is _not_ ready for all of this yet?”

“And maybe the only reason that you are so against MC joining the RFA is because you are just as prejudiced as Zen is against me only you manage to hide it better?” 

“Or maybe I do not _need_ to be mollycoddled by _either_ one of you. Weren't you listening to anything that I said before?” MC strides past Jumin, feeling annoyed from everything that has gone on. If she’d _known_ how things were going to pan out then she’d have been tempted to stay in bed that day. 

Instead of turning right towards homeroom she carries on and breaks out into a bit of a run, before she clambers up to the garden roof. She pushes through the double doors; inhaling her first gulp of relatively fresh air-the air is always tinged with the musk of the city. She goes up the large, white stone steps, dumps her cherry rucksack and finally feels freer-that sense of calm that she has when surrounded by plants, which remind her so much of her mother. She touches at a couple of the leaves that are just beginning to sprout-though they will not bloom for another month or more-from the baskets that are hanging from black, ornamental stands, which are close to the main flower beds and the weeds in her own mind begin to retreat as she weaves herself closer to the roof. 

_“Christ,”_ she murmurs to herself, “Is all of this just too much hassle?” She stops on the edge of the roof and looks out toward the city. Thin wisps of cloud stretch out over the haze. She longs for her life to be easier sometimes and for everything to _not_ be against her. A pair of arms wrap themselves around her waist and pull her back a little. She hears a grateful murmur as she jumps and makes a bit of a sound, before she settles down once more, the steady scent of sandalwood in the air around her, letting Jumin hold her in spite of how she’d snapped at both Jaehee and him just now.

“I am not trying to control you _or_ be your parent.” 

“I know,” she relents, “I _do_ know that. Things just got a bit too intense now that’s all.” 

“Yes they did. You are not thinking of quitting already are you?” He puts his nose close to her shoulder.

She hesitates, but being in the fresh air with him and where _no_ one is arguing and in his arms makes her feel as if it is worth it or that it _might_ be in the end. “No, but you do understand _why_ I need to talk to Zen, don’t you?” She twists around to look at him now. “Just because things haven’t been good between the two of you _before_ doesn’t mean that they can’t be in the future.” 

“I know. It would not be like you to give up on it.” There seems to be _both_ admiration and fear in his eyes however. 

“Can you trust me? I know it is not easy for you to trust _any_ one aside from your father, _but”-_

“You _already_ have my trust Princess. I just”-he looks away from her momentarily-“I only do not want to lose you again, and if I said anything just now when we were with the others that seemed harsh and disagreeable to you then it was _because_ of such a thing.”

“I know,” she murmurs. 

“I would like us to still be friends.”

“I _know,”_ she says with more certainty. “I'm sorry if I worried you.” She looks back out in front of her again. 

“I would keep you in one place if I could, but I know that is not possible. Not to mention _away_ from everyone else too.” She feels him shift behind her and can feel his heartbeat upon her back. She is not sure _how_ to respond to his words and fiddles absent-mindedly with her watch. “From your brother?” Jumin guesses. 

“Mmhmm.” 

“Was everything all right when you got home last night?” 

“Yes. Father was out working.” 

_“Good,”_ Jumin says and he sounds relieved about the fact. 

“I want to be friends _so_ much too, y’ know?” She twists around to look at him. “I would _like_ to have the chance to get to know you again”- 

“I think you would find that I haven’t changed that much.” 

“We have _both_ changed.” She touches the tips of her fingers to his cheek.

_“Maybe,”_ he admits reluctantly, “But I still want the same things.”

“What are they?” she asks, lowering her hand.

His eyes soften. “My father to stop dating women when I fear that he is chasing after something he cannot have, _especially_ since he lost your mother. He seems to be doing anything that he can to forget about the fact”-she is saddened by how great losing her mother was for them all-“To keep Elizabeth the 3rd happy and healthy and I want to know you forever too,” he confesses now, his voice somehow both raw and husky all at the same time, “To _always_ have your friendship.” If craving had a sound then it would be that, she thinks. He takes her hands gently with his and swings her around to further safety. She lets out a gasp and his heart jumps. He worries for a split-second that he has over estimated the amount of space that is available to her on the roof and that she will go plunging down over the side of it and be gone from his life. She does not, however, and instead he manages to dip her down, like he might have done if they’d just danced together. The light from the morning sun caresses her face, just about reaching over half of it, as if it wishes to touch her so badly and they both let out a little breath at that point. She looks _so_ beautiful, like a painting or a statue in that moment, and he does not know if it is because of those reasons, but he wishes to close the gap between them, lose himself in his instincts and lower his face down to her own. He wonders what it would be like to do so. To be _that_ close to her and brush her lips with his own. The nervous sound she makes however snaps him out of it and he becomes aware that her hands are clinging desperately to his chest in an attempt to keep herself balanced and that she does not feel secure in that position. He _always_ wants her to feel safe and so he helps to get her upright once more, before he lets go of her. He tries to ignore the blush that is on her face, but can’t help but feel curious about it all the same and the heat, which emanates from his own. Shyly they smile at one another, before they stare off adamantly into the distance of the city, which birds fly in an arc over. “Don’t _ever_ be like one of those birds,” he murmurs fervently now and she looks at him, “Flying away from me. Whatever Zen might say, and I _know_ that we have discussed this, but he _will_ try and turn you against me”- Jumin would not usually like to persist in whining and complaining, but if _anything_ is unfair then it is that silver-haired boy’s attitude towards him and the fact that he will try and persuade MC not to have anything to do with him, as will the rest of them if they get their way. 

“I will use my _own_ mind to think about it all,” she reminds him patiently, “And what about you? _You’ll_ be going to college soon.” She thinks that it is unkind for him to act as if _she_ will be the one leaving him and their friendship when it so easily looks to her as if it will be the other way around. 

“Are you going to use that as an excuse not to be friends with me?”

_“No…”_ she hates how things can’t seem to get into a settled state between them. Hates how there always seems to be this odd tension and like they are always on verge of an argument. 

“I'm sorry.” Jumin diminishes things between them by taking her hand in his and sliding his thumb apologetically over the curve of hers. “I should not have said that to you.” 

She tries not to think too much about how pleasant his touch is or how it _more_ than makes up for his abrupt words. “Will it be far? Maybe we could still meet up from time to time”-just as before it is harder to believe that she will turn her back on him in his presence and maybe it will be _fine_ to see him occasionally once she graduates? “I probably won’t be able to get into the same college as you of course, but”- She can’t resist that hope.

“It will be abroad. _America,_ the Wharton school of the university of Pennsylvania,” his voice cracks as he reels of the grand sounding name and her heart plummets.

She feels foolish that she’d _ever_ contemplated that someone like him with all his talent, and considering the family business that he will soon be entering, would be staying in the country. “That is so far away then…” She moves instinctively further away from him now, before she realizes that she is being unfair as he lets out a painful breath. After all, it is up to _him_ what he does after school and if _he_ wants this course of action then she will just have to accept such a thing. “I'm sorry, I”-

He shrugs and turns to face her now, as if he understands and she moves in the same position towards him. “I have been pushing for it for months,” he tells her, “I had to apply to several universities here and abroad just to _manage_ both possible outcomes. Father wanted me to stay in the country and make use of the facilities that we have here, but Wharton is the oldest collegiate school of business in the _world_ and”-

“Of _course_ you have to go.” She can see what an opportunity it will be for him and nods fervently a couple of times, as if the matter is settled. 

“My mind is wavering a little since last night, _but”-_ he confesses.

_“No,”_ she says, despite the hope she has inside her from him saying that. “You won your father around. You _have_ to go.”

“Yes, that is what I think,” he sounds relieved by the fact that she agrees with him, “I convinced him that it would be of great benefit to me if I see how business models work elsewhere and _especially_ in a more Western society. As time goes by they will be looking to trade with the east all the more and I might be a corporate heir”-he looks a little embarrassed now by the title and looks off to the side as pink flushes high on his cheekbones-“But I want to be treated like any other executive.” He looks back at her. “If my performance is not good enough then I should be fired, _so,_ as part of hopefully being good enough, I need to first see what I _can_ add to the already successful company, aside from cat businesses of course.” He smiles in a tight way at her, before he tells her; “I would like to take Elizabeth the 3rd with me of course, but worry that it might be too much for her.” She’s not sure if he would have done the same thing when they’d first met and the cat had seemed like his one true obsession. She realizes now that Elizabeth the 3rd has barely featured in their conversations since they've spoken to one another again, though admittedly there has not been _much_ time for her to yet. “I will miss her dreadfully of course,” Jumin continues, “But it is worse to think of her suffering alone, whilst I am at school all day long. She has the maid right now to offer her _some_ sort of attention and company for a little while throughout the day. In America it will be harder to fix up such a thing. I would like to use some funds for it, but _Father…_ well, we have never seen eye-to-eye on Elizabeth the 3rd.” _‘Ah,’_ MC thinks now, _‘It was his father who won that round and Jumin would still like to ideally take Elizabeth the 3rd with him if he could.’ “MC?”_ Jumin looks at her more tentatively.

_“Mm?”_ She focuses hard on him once more. 

“Now that we are back to talking to one another again perhaps the _ideal_ thing would be for _you_ to look after Elizabeth the 3rd when the time comes and I am away in college? She would like your company, of that I am sure,” he charms her. 

“But I thought that your _father-?”_ MC is taken aback by his sudden proposal and feels an underlying uneasiness about it all. 

Jumin looks suddenly cross with her. “Father does not feel the same way for her like I do. I could relax _more_ if I knew _you_ were in charge of her rather than that she was being subjected to all these strange women. She could stay in the penthouse. I could give you a spare key and tell the security guards there to permit you access. She would be _so_ glad for your company…It won’t be for some time I know, the end of July, but I just want to make sure that”- 

_“Jumin.”_ MC bridges the gap between them, taking the tips of his fingers with her own. “Think about why you are doing this.” He looks uncertain so she clarifies, “You are afraid aren't you? Of losing Elizabeth the 3rd and...maybe me too and the only way you think that you won’t lose us is if you bind us together somehow?” She shakes her head absentmindedly-as if she even _needs_ a reason to keep in touch with him! “I'm grateful if I mean anything to you, but you must realize that it is going to be _just_ as hard for me to look after Elizabeth the 3rd, as it is for you.” His face falls now and he looks to the ground. “My father…my _brother…”_ she searches desperately for some words to explain. “I'm still going to be stuck in school for another year, before I can _even_ graduate, you _know_ that. Once I graduate and _if_ I have my own place and am still close enough to get here without it taking hours on end-then, if _those_ things all fall into place then of _course”-_ she squeezes at his fingers now-“I would like to look in on her and do what I can for her, but you know that I can’t _guarantee_ that I will be able to do such a thing for the next year.” She turns to face the view again, but does not look at it properly and instead keeps her head down. Jumin moves close to her side and stares at her, wondering what she is thinking about. “You know,” she begins tentatively and he senses that nothing good is coming and wishes that she would not say it at _all_ in that case, “Maybe we should just”-

_“MC,”_ Jumin begs her not to go on.

_“No.”_ She shakes her head tearily. “Maybe it would be kinder for us both if we just thought about this realistically now? It would stop you from panicking at least because there would be _nothing_ for you to panic about”-

“That is not _kind_ MC. I will _always_ worry about you”-

“And I _you,_ but maybe if we are sensible about this then you won’t need to worry about the logistics of our friendship right now”-

“If I came to find you once you graduated, what then? Would you accept our friendship or would I have waited all that time only for you to _still_ make an excuse?”

“It is not an”-

“Things are _not_ going to get any easier Princess. We can pretend that it is, but that’s not the truth. Both your family and the members of the RFA have mistaken thoughts about me, that is true”-

“I'm not saying that I agree with them and believe that you are trouble _too,_ Jumin,” she looks alarmed now, “I'm just trying to do what’s best for you.” 

“I _tried_ to do that, but it had blown up in my face now,” he mutters, before he asks her all the more desperately, “Do you know _why_ I wanted to go away the most?” 

“For the business?” she suggests even though he has already told her such a thing, but she can’t think of another reason. 

“Partly yes, but also because I wasn’t getting anywhere with you by being here and it”- he hesitates for a moment and looks off to the side, before he re-connects their eyes again.

“You _wanted_ to run away? From me? The situation?” Her heart thuds uncertainly. 

“It was _painful_ for me Princess.” She swallows. They turn to face one another now and this time it is _he_ who takes her hands lightly in his. “I thought by going away that I might have a better idea on _how_ to resolve things between us. I have wanted to sort this out for a very long time and though I regret making that decision now I do not feel cross about what happened last night. I am _not_ going to turn my back on you now that we are _finally_ making progress and I am not going to accept your excuses.” He looks at her determinedly and she lets out a sigh.

“It is about everyone _else,”_ she tries to explain, “It’s not as if _I_ don’t want to”- 

“I don’t _care_ what they think of me Princess,” Jumin’s voice is raw and emotional, “I know _you_ do, but I”-

“I need to go to class.” She pulls away from him, worrying that he will say something that he will be apologetic for if they continue like this. 

_“MC,”_ he tries to get her attention once more when she begins to move away from him. “Don’t you know? It is _time_ for us to rebel! I read it in a book. If we are going to do something like this then it has to be now.” He tries to smile when she looks back at him. 

“Do you even _hear_ what you are telling me?” she exclaims. “You are a _Han!”_ Her eyes are suddenly hurt and furious-not with him, but with the situation-and the crooked grin that he’d forced onto his face to try and persuade her slides off it. “You are a Han and for God’s sake you _can’t_ rebel Jumin! You can’t _do_ what all the other kids are allowed to! Don’t you know that?” He frowns and shies away from her. She swipes feebly at her eyes as the tears flow. “I'm sorry, but you just _can’t.”_ Worry and resentment begin to settle low inside Jumin’s stomach. “You _can’t_ put your future at risk. You _can’t_ walk away from your inheritance. I _know_ it means so much to you and that is exactly _why_ you have to care more about what people think of you. Your father, the media…your _fan_ club”- she says the last part slightly venomously. 

“Then maybe I don’t _want_ to be a Han any more!” he protests. “Not when I can’t have _this,”_ he is suddenly fierce and his spit goes flying, as his eyes brim with tears. He tries to touch at her arm and attempt to make her see that what he feels is just a new level of common sense, but she just pulls away from him.

“You _have_ to do what those people want and not put a step out of line,” she informs him breathily, “And befriending me again? When I can’t do _anything_ for you?”-

“You can! You already have! You do _so_ much for me!” His hands go up to tug at his hair fretfully.

“But I am _nothing_ in that community,” she reminds him as she begins to pace a little, “No, this is all a terrible idea. You have a reputation to uphold and a long career in front of you. I don’t even _know_ what I want to do with my life.” She looks back and shakes her head at him. “Best that we be sensible now and admit that there isn’t long, before we will be separated for a long period of time, maybe even _forever._ Surely you can see the sense in that?” 

“I will _never_ -let you be away from me-for that long,” Jumin says in between gulps of air and he takes a step closer to her now.

“You don’t have a say in the matter. It is what society dictates,” she warns him with a cool evenness. 

“At least explain something to me then if you are going to continue to be this stubborn?” She inclines her head uncertainly and Jumin looks triumphant for a moment. What is the _point_ in being sensible”-he clutches at her arm now-“And working hard and doing what other people want us to if we have to carry on _feeling_ this way? If time, which I know it won’t in my case, doesn’t make it fade? I-last night felt _right_ didn't it?” She nods gingerly, afraid if she is _too_ effusive in her praise for the previous night it will only vindicate him. He looks relieved by her action and pinches at her clothing a little more tightly. “So _why_ do we have to stay apart and what is all that effort even _for_ if we cannot have the relationship with others that we would like to?”-

“So that your future is preserved and that your father’s business can continue.” 

“Then maybe it is better to not feel anything at all,” he muses, “If you _really_ feel that way then maybe it is best for me to try and go back to what I felt was strongest _before_ your mother and you came into my life because I don’t _want_ to keep feeling this way and it would hurt less”-

“You don’t _have_ to be afraid of what you are feeling Jumin,” she tells him now, “It is perfectly natural to feel upset about all of this”-

_“Upset?!”_ He looks at her incredulously and draws his hand back from her. “I don’t think you quite understand, do you? I feel _more_ than just upset about this. It crushes me…all the threads in my mind are knotted.”

“I have weeds in mine,” she acknowledges and he looks intrigued by her, so she muses more hurriedly, “Then maybe-maybe if it’s _that_ bad then as long as you’re not unhealthy about such a thing and _allow_ yourself to feel things when you really need to then it _would_ be best if you pretended that we do not know one another and _certainly_ if you accepted that we cannot know one another in the immediate future. Maybe _that_ would be best for you?” 

“You are agreeing with me now?” He touches at her arm gently. “Are you sure that, that is what you want Princess? You would rather go along with what everyone else wants and allow the ugliness and loneliness to build up inside both of our minds each time we cut off our emotions?”

“No, I-I don’t know,” she confesses, feeling utterly and hopelessly confused. She looks up at him. “I don’t know what to do for the best.” 

“Is it the same for you though? You have weeds,” he prompts her now, “Do you feel like they sometimes grow up enough that they might strangle you if they reach you? My threads were building up before the first time we met. You prevented them from touching me, but they have been building up again in this past year and”-

“I don’t know Jumin!” she is growing more scared by this entire thing. “I-I just want to leave.” She glances off to the side uncertainly. 

_“Maybe_ if you put yourself first more and stopped thinking about everyone else then you _would_ know?” he suggests, sensing that they must feel the same-her with her weeds and him with his threads-and that she is just being stubborn and trying to avoid it because of all the complications it would bring.

“All I know is that I will _still_ be with the RFA and help its members in any way that I can, but I think we _both_ have to realize that we probably won’t _ever_ have the friendship we would like to Jumin,” she sounds frustrated. “One where we are _accepted._ Even if we wait, so what choice do we have, _really,_ when it comes down to it? You have to let go of me.” She pushes back her emotion now and turns back towards the steps, fetching her cherry rucksack and exiting through the doors, but not before she hears Jumin saying that he refuses to let go of her… 

*

Jaehee tries to talk to MC outside their lockers after first period. MC had been quite good at avoiding her up until that point considering that she’d _only_ just managed to check in with her homeroom teacher-her peers had already been on their way to the first lesson-and then she’d ignored every note her friend had sent her, not even bothering to read them, just slipping them under the page of her workbook and feeling numb from everything that had happened that morning. She hadn’t even been able to think about it properly or not in any context that wasn’t snatches and that made _real_ sense to her. She hadn’t been able to avoid going to her locker to switch things around for her next class however. 

“I know it might have seemed like everyone was ganging up on you earlier, _but”-_

“I _know_ that you were only doing it because you care for me.” She doesn’t want to fight with her friend any more and not talking to Jaehee doesn’t feel natural to her. “You don’t _have_ to worry about it for any longer though.” MC closes both her bag and locker. Jaehee stares at her anxiously. “I'm being sensible about the thing. It’s not because I’ve realized that any of you are right about Jumin, because you’re _not,”_ she looks at her friend slightly savagely and Jaehee nods her head consideringly, “But I _know_ that you’re right about him graduating soon, so you don’t have to worry.” Emotion trembling on her face she walks away. 

*

She feels isolated in school that day. Jaehee switches track and tells her that although she _wants_ MC to remain focused she doesn’t want it to be at the expense of her _ultimate_ happiness. MC feels like the sentiment is too little, too late by that point and doesn’t _really_ have the energy to explain it to her. It hurts that there had been all that hope last night and now this. It feels like the two contrasts cannot possibly exist in the same reality, but somehow they do. 

People had seen Jaehee, Jumin and MC arguing and discussing the thing earlier too and MC has to explain to the ones that come to ask her about it that no, she is not dating Jumin Han, despite the fact that he’d had his arm around her earlier. She makes out like he’d just been supporting her about something, which upholds his reputation better and makes him look kind, as if he has pitied someone who is beneath him. 

She is desperate to escape the school at the end of the day and thinks that she would rather do her self-studying at home than do it at school, but when she can _see_ the exit to the front entrance of the school, when her escape is _finally_ in sight, she is blocked by a girl with long magenta hair that is loose over her shoulders. She almost _groans_ with despair from getting so close to her freedom. 

“I'm not sure what sort of scheme your mom and you cooked up together,” the girl begins in a hostile fashion with her arms folded in front of her, and MC, whilst she tries to ignore the slight jibe against her mother, can’t help but think, _‘Oh, here we go again.’_ “But it’s obvious now that she’s dead”-MC frowns at that and tries to let the words simply float around her rather than letting them get to her because that might enable her to depart from the situation more quickly and there has been _enough_ arguing for a lifetime that day-“You’re following in her footsteps and trying to get as much money out of the Han family as possible and I'm here to tell you that, that is unacceptable and you better be careful and not do that in front of me. Rich people have a reputation to uphold. Something _you_ would never understand.” 

After being the one who’s been going on about keeping up Jumin’s reputation all day MC cannot let that one slide. “And if I _was_ doing that, which I'm not by the way, but if I _was_ then how would _you_ be any different from me? Don’t your friends and you try and get things from Jumin every opportunity you can? Invites to the best parties, speeches by Jumin’s father at such and such an event, _cheaper_ products-?” 

“Cheaper products?! I don’t _need_ cheaper products. Unlike you it is not the _only_ choice for me!” The girl looks insulted now and bats her long, fake eyelashes at her furiously for a moment like a butterfly that is trying to attack. “I _care”-_ she draws the word out-“About the Han family, about who they are and what they have done for business. I want to start a business of my _own_ one day. You might enjoy it because I'm thinking about heading into the food industry”-MC thinks that is grossly unfair since she’s _hardly_ what anyone would call fat, _and,_ in any case, _anyone_ would be larger than the girl that is in front of her-“I’ll send you a voucher once I'm all set up, but just step away from me now and don’t even _think_ of doing the damage that you are. I _need_ to stay in touch with Jumin Han since we’ll be going into the same field, one day we might be business partners or even _more_ than that, but you need to stay away from him. Stay away from Jumin Han, MC. I'm warning you.” 

“And if I don’t?” she challenges her.

“Excuse me?” 

“I am _not_ trailing after him like you do,” MC explains, “I leave him well enough alone. It has been _him_ in the past who has approached _me”-_

“Probably because he feels sorry for you after what happened with your mother, but _your_ pity card? _Well,_ I think that has expired now, so move along.” 

“You know what? _Maybe_ you’re right,” MC has to admit to her. The girl’s eyebrows rise. “Maybe Jumin’s just being a gentleman and that’s _all_ it is. We got to know one another a little bit because of my mother, but it’s probably time for that to end now.” The girl nods her head eagerly now, her eyes flashing with triumph and MC can almost imagine her talon like nails closing around Jumin’s waist and pulling him to her. _“But,”_ MC goes on, and the girl looks at her with a dubious sort of wariness, “Even if that _is_ the case then it doesn’t mean that he wants someone like _you_ either”-

“I can see that you have problems in letting things go,” the girl says snootily now, as if she is above MC, “And I'm going to pretend that I _didn't_ hear that and let you off just this one time because you don’t _walk_ in the same circles that we do and you can’t _possibly_ understand that or the very deep connection that Jumin and I have”-

“What deep connection? The few words that you _have_ actually spoken to one another?” MC can’t stop herself from saying now.

The girl looks disgusted. “We have had _many_ important conversations together I’ll have you know, about business and otherwise, our _future_ together for one thing”-MC snorts a little at that, thinking initially that such a thing _must_ be false, but at the gaze the girl gives her she gets a sinking feeling in her stomach and a reminder of how she is _not_ good enough and that Jumin and her are _poles_ apart, but she snaps herself out of it as much as she can and reminds herself of Jumin’s kindness to her and all the time that they've spent together, as well as the fact that he’s _shown_ he’s had more time for _her_ in the past than for girls like this-“I’d just like to let you know that I _will_ be having dinner with Jumin and his father tonight.” MC’s mouth opens ever so slightly at that-she _hadn’t_ been expecting such a thing and she wonders now if she’s got it all wrong and if Jumin _does_ have time for people like this girl after all? Her stomach sinks further. Has he _changed_ more in the past year than she might have been aware of? Is the true reason for _why_ he is not as obsessed about Elizabeth the 3rd any more because he’s gotten into girls like the one in front of her? “Yeah, that’s right,” the girl goes on, breaking MC out of her thought now, “My _mentor_ -the one that I got after Jumin and I _talked,_ which is more than _you_ two have been doing lately”-she rubs salt into the wound-“Well, _her_ name is Glam Choi”-MC’s mouth drops open-“As in the _celebrity_ Glam Choi? The _film_ actress? Yes, _her.”_ She can tell that MC knows who she is now by the expression that is upon her face. “And _she,_ which you probably _don’t_ know about, but I'm giving you this information for free, so you can thank me in a moment for it, is dating Chairman Han.” She is only a few years older than Jumin and MC thinks that they've only been dating recently. “I'm sorry to inform you that your mother and you are old news now. Jumin’s father has _long_ since moved on and Jumin’s getting ready to do the same-with _me,”_ she gloats. 

“I see,” MC is tentative. Has she just got it wrong all along then? But he’d seemed to _genuinely_ care for her up on the roof that morning. He’d seemed to be the _one,_ if anyone, who had been _fighting_ for their friendship. But there are _clearly_ gaps in her knowledge of him now. Is it possible that although he _still_ would like to be friends with her he _had_ started to think more about all the aspects of his future in the time that they had been apart-not just his career-and spending time with girls like this _had_ become a more attractive prospect for him? Or had Chairman Han been _responsible_ for the dinner? From what she knows of Jumin that would mean that he is _only_ spending time with this girl because he thinks that it is what his father would approve of. Unless Chairman Han happened to arrange things anyway? Or was this all inevitable because Jumin is Chairman Han’s son after all and he genuinely feels like this girl is a better long-term prospect for him? She can’t deny that might be true and _knows_ that she probably isn’t in the running anyway, but the whole thing is so confusing to her that she needs to get out of there as quickly as possible. _“Zen,”_ the name gets chucked out of her throat, as the silver-haired boy brushes past them obliviously on his way outside. The girl wears a triumphant smirk on her face now. Zen turns around and looks at MC quizzically, half-taking in the girl that is beside her with narrowed eyes, as if a voice in his brain is asking, _‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’_ MC doesn’t know _how_ to explain what she wants or _needs_ in that moment so she just grabs Zen’s hand and drags him outside.

The girl who had been talking to MC-Sarah-turns around, only to feel _far_ happier when she sees that Jumin has just borne witness to MC forcefully taking Zen outside. 

_“This_ is what I mean.” She sashays up to him now. 

“I'm sorry?” he is drawn now out of wondering what MC was doing by taking Zen’s hand and out of the instant worry that, that had made him feel. For MC isn’t _that_ type of girl is she? The sort who, just to be spiteful, seeks out another’s company because she _can’t_ have his? She doesn’t want to replace him already, does she? Is it because she is _angry_ with him? _Well,_ he is angry with her for not realizing _how_ important she is to him and for trying to minimize that in order so that other people can be happy. He tells himself that of _course_ she must just be persisting in the quest that she’d had earlier of meeting Zen and of trying to understand him more fully so that relations in the RFA can be additionally harmonious. That is _exactly_ the sort of thing that she _would_ do right now even when there is _no_ point in the thing and even after what he’d told her about how Zen will _never_ like him. A raging voice inside his head, however, tells him that there was _no_ need for her to hold Zen’s hand _whatever_ reason she’d been meeting him for. He feels irritated and unsettled by the entire thing. He sees the girl who is now in front of him and vaguely recognizes her as the one who had accosted him when he’d been trying to text MC. She touches at a point that’s just beneath his shoulder. He shrugs her off him in a reflex action like Elizabeth the 3rd sometimes does to a curious bumblebee.

“I'm sorry too,” the girl tells him in what she must be hoping is a sympathetic tone, but which _really_ sounds quite pathetic and disdainful to Jumin’s ears, “Sorry that you have to go through all of this and that you can’t even be _normal_ without people trying to take advantage of you”-something flinches inside him at that as he remembers how MC had yelled that he can’t be like everyone else-“But you do not have to worry about her any more Jumin. I _know_ that you probably felt like you had to make sure she was all right after what happened to her mother because of your good nature and out of a duty to your father, but since he’s moved on, don’t you think it would be a good idea for _you_ to do so as well?” Her hand splays against his chest now and he shrugs her off him again. 

“Please refrain from touching me,” his voice is cold, _“Or_ from making assumptions about my friends who you know nothing about.”

_“Is_ she your friend though? I don’t think that she is.” Her small hands clench-the one sign of anger at how he has just treated her. “I _know_ you must be hurting, but she’s _playing_ you Jumin. Can’t you see that?” He wants to block out her voice now, but the sound of it filters through to him anyway. “I saw her leading Zen away by the hand as clearly as you did. She’s _finally_ got the message it would seem that _she_ can’t have you”-

“And who _gave_ her that message in the first place?” Jumin asks her rather threateningly.

There is a rush of eyelash movement, before the girl carries on as if she hadn’t even heard him, “So she’s picking on another star of our school and someone who _might_ be famous in a few years time. _He’s_ her only hope now.” Jumin wonders if it’s true and thinks that even if it isn’t MC clearly can’t see them being friends any longer, so perhaps something _will_ happen between Zen and her instead now? The thought makes Jumin cross. He does _not_ like the thought of MC being one of _those_ girls, but perhaps he’d just wanted to believe that she was one of those few unique individuals, like Rika, who wouldn’t treat him in such a way and who could understand him better. Perhaps he’d pinned too much on her, like he had done with Elizabeth the 3rd before and now they have both let him down? Perhaps it is better _not_ to feel and _not_ to hope that anyone will ever be able to see him for who he _really_ is and accept that just won’t happen? Maybe he _has_ wasted all this time when he should have been focusing on his career? “I'm sorry Jumin, but I don’t see how she can even _care_ for you when she takes another boy by the hand like that…” Sarah looks at him rather desperately. “I think she’s just been sticking around on the off-chance that you would be able to help her if she got into trouble, which a girl like that is _always_ bound to, you know? She doesn’t operate in our circles. She doesn’t _know_ her place.” Something about that remark makes Jumin feel angry, but is it out of habit rather than a justified anger if MC is _really_ like this girl says she is? “You need to show her how unacceptable that is Jumin. Show her that you are _not_ just a piggy bank to be _used,_ whilst she goes out and enjoys herself with other men. You are a human being and you deserve _better_ than that.” Jumin thinks now that he _does._ He remembers how MC had gone with Yoosung last night. Today it seems to be Zen who all her focus is on. It never seems to be just _him_ that she has her eye on and he is not _used_ to waiting in line, whilst she fills her knowledge of others. He feels like he would just like her to turn her attention fully to him for a change and he is not prepared to wait any longer. Sarah is still babbling. He gives her a severe look. “Why don’t you have a think about it, yes?” Sarah gets to the point. “And I’ll see you at dinner this evening.” She smiles sweetly at him now and pecks him on the cheek. Jumin immediately swipes at the spot, wishing that his old nanny were there to clean it up like she’d done when he’d gotten dirty on rare occasions as a child. Sarah giggles at his action. After a last touch to his arm she is gone, before he can even get back to the point she’d made of dinner and ask what she had meant by it all. He remembers that he is supposed to be having dinner with his father that night and groans, knowing that Chairman Han probably had something to do with Sarah’s invitation and regretting being who he is all the more.

*

“Zen, you’ve got a motorbike, right?” MC lets go of Zen’s hand as soon as they are out of the door, but she is on a mission. “I'm _sure_ that Jaehee mentioned it once, probably _more_ than that actually. She’s rather fond of you.” 

_“Jaehee_ is?” 

“Yes, didn't you know that she watches your musicals?” MC queries. 

“I thought she just popped by when she wanted to take a break from working?” Zen shrugs. MC rolls her eyes. Zen is _clearly_ clueless about how much affection Jaehee has for him. “Um, anyway, yeah I’ve got a bike, but I don’t let people ride on it with me,” Zen goes on to try and get away from the fact that MC is looking at him as if he’s really dumb. “I had an accident before and luckily V was around and he took me to hospital, but he worries enough about me using it still and I don’t _want”-_

“That’s nice,” she spins around to silence him, “But what V doesn’t know can’t hurt him. I have had it up to _here”-_ she gestures just beneath her forehead with her hand-“With everything today and I just need to get away from it all. You understand me?” Zen nods, looking a little scared of her and she decides to make things a bit easier for him. “It’s not like I'm a beginner in any case,” she tells him now, “My brother had a bike for a couple of years, _before_ Father made him give it up. Can we just get away from here? You don’t have to talk about Jumin. It’s up to you. I could just do with some peace and quiet.”

“What model was it?” Zen asks her, as he looks at her steadily. 

_“Model?”_ MC thinks that she knows what he might mean, but she’s hesitant to go wrong with her answer. 

_“Yeah.”_ Zen looks at her in that same calculating way of his again, folding his arms behind the back of his head. “The bike your brother had. What model was it?” 

“Um, er…” she trails off sheepishly. 

“Knew it,” Zen says, but he leads her to his bike anyway. 

“Just because I _don’t_ know the model doesn’t mean what I’ve said isn’t true.” Zen looks at her sceptically over his shoulder from where he’s fishing the helmet out of the storage container that’s on the back of the bike. “All right, so it’s not,” she relents now, _“But”-_

“It doesn’t matter.” Zen says, positioning the helmet over her head and trying to be relatively careful with her hair. “You lying to me just backs up the fact that you need to get out of here”-

“You don’t know me that well,” she’s cautious with him. 

_“No,”_ he admits, “But as much as I _don’t_ know about Jaehee,” he says slyly now, which makes her smile a little, “I don’t think that she’s the sort to hang about with a chronic liar, much less be worried about one like she has all day with you.”

MC feels a little guilty at that and that feeling _almost_ threatens to freeze her when she realizes that Zen, sans helmet, is getting onto the bike and kicking it into action. “Am I wearing the _only_ helmet you’ve got?” she finally finds her voice again. 

Zen looks at her. “Get on.” He jerks his head back. 

“You sure?” she asks. 

“Yep. We've come _this_ far, haven’t we? I thought you wanted to escape? I'm flattered that you’d come to _me_ to do such a thing.” His eyebrows wriggle now suggestively. She blushes beneath her helmet and waves a hand. He laughs and she does the same. _“Besides,_ the bike’s all ready to go now, so whether you’re going to come or just borrow my helmet all night, which _again,_ I wouldn’t mind by the way jagiya”- he grins at her. 

“You’re disgraceful,” she tells him. 

_“What?_ You just gave me an ego boost with what you said about Jaehee,” he protests. 

“Then let _her_ be your jagiya.” She shakes her head at him now, before she gets on the bike, the humorous energy helping her to go through with it all. Suddenly her body is pressed up close to Zen’s, however, and the broadness of his back becomes apparent to her and she’s not sure _where_ to look, much less where to hold onto. 

He looks around at her and quickly appears amused again. _“Here.”_ His hands, which are slightly more calloused than Jumin’s take hold of hers and gently fumble them forward a little, so that they come to be resting delicately on his hips. She notices how for all his supposed arrogance he blushes really easily and he looks away for a moment. Zen says, more to a spot over his shoulder than to her, “You’ll have to duck down. My hair will be like an offensive weapon otherwise, just like the rest of my good looks.” He is a mixture between sheepish and teasing now as he looks back at her. 

“That’s okay.” She hunches a little closer to him and presses her head against his back, so that she can’t see as he begins to pull away from the space. 

He chuckles a little. “You’ll never feel free if you don’t look around Princess and I thought that was the whole point of all of this?”

She grumbles against his warm back. “All right.” She adjusts her position and tries not to think too much about how Zen had just called her the same thing that Jumin tends to. Maybe they've got more similarities than the pair of them would like to _believe,_ she thinks now, and maybe, in an odd way, and _despite_ the truly terrible day that she’s had, she’s meant to be with Zen in that moment so she can figure things out once and for all? Just to confuse her again, however, the world decides to give her a _further_ reminder of Jumin when, just before Zen can _finally_ finish steering them out of the car park, she looks back at the school building just in time to see Jumin exiting it, his expression all stern and focused. His mouth gapes though when he sees her on the back of Zen’s bike. She half-grimaces, shrugs and shifts her position slightly in the hope that he might forgive her, but it only looks to Jumin like she doesn’t _care_ about him spotting her and is thrusting against Zen. His face darkens. She _knows_ that he doesn’t get on with Zen. Is _that_ why she’s going off with him? Is it a mixture of that and what Sarah had told him earlier?  
Zen meanwhile, senses that she’s ill at ease about something and looks around, but he is not able to look long enough to see Jumin, only to see that MC’s gaze seems to be fixed in a particular direction.  
MC’s lips part uncertainly when she sees how Jumin’s expression becomes a fierce one. It makes her feel like she’s doing something wrong and maybe she _is,_ she thinks? Maybe it was _right_ for her to go off with Zen initially-it got her out of the situation with that girl after all-but now it isn’t and things have changed as they seem to have a habit of doing these days? Maybe she _should_ be stopping Zen from continuing and getting off the bike? Marching up to Jumin and asking him for the truth, to tell her something that she can believe in, so that she can look in his eyes and hear from him on what type of person he is? But she doesn’t have the energy for all that right now. She doesn’t know _where_ to begin or where it will all end if she starts talking to him at that point. She doesn’t want to risk speaking either, before she’s thought things through and she feels like they will _both_ say things they’ll regret if they talk right now. 

“Everything all right?” Zen comes to a stop at the junction, which leads out of the car park. He scrutinizes her properly when he looks around at her. 

“Yeah…” Her eyes lock with Jumin’s one final time, before she gives Zen’s hips a squeeze of permission and looks away. _“Yes,”_ she tells him. 

*

Jumin feels disappointed as they leave. Disappointed and like MC _is_ living up to Sarah’s view of her after all. Maybe he should _never_ have hoped for anything different? All women could easily let him down as they have done his father…

*

MC and Zen go to the park that is high up in the mountains. He swerves the bike onto the grassy verge and MC climbs shakily off it-Zen to be fair had _not_ been going all that fast and she senses in fact that he’d been significantly restraining himself, but it had _still_ been a cross between being exhilarating and a bit too much for her. She’d tried to keep her eyes open and attempt to appreciate the ride. But between her inexperience, how conscious she had been of the way that Jumin had watched Zen and her go off with one another and how _uncomfortable_ that had made her feel, along with the increasingly bumpy motion, as they’d gotten further away from the city and closer to their destination she is left feeling a little unsteady on her feet and sick. 

_“Whoah!”_ Zen tries to balance her, catching her around the middle, before his hand jerks self-consciously to her shoulder instead. 

“Sorry.” She looks at him apologetically. 

“It’s all right,” he tells her, letting go of her gently now and looking _relieved_ when she manages to stay steady [he has _no_ idea how he’d be able to get her back down to the city if she fainted.] “It takes a while for some people to get used to it. They can’t _all_ be naturals like me.” He flashes her a wolfish grin now and she lets out a bit of a moan in protest, which causes Zen to worry again. “You all right?” he asks her concernedly. 

_“Yeah,”_ she says. 

“It was the quickest way we could get here though,” he excuses, gesturing all around him, as he tries to appeal to her. “And here’s where I like to come when I’ve had bad days, so I thought it might work for you too.”

_“Bad_ days?” She moves a little alongside the wooden fence that’s by the path, “What are _your_ bad days like Zen? You seem to be doing pretty well at the moment.” She stops now and looks across. She can see more mountains in the distance. The sun’s low glow shines on them, whilst its light also reflects off the tall skyscrapers that are in the city. Jumin is probably in one of them right at this moment. It is nice in a way not to know exactly _which_ one he might be in. She _does_ feel a little bit sick however when she remembers the fact that Jumin’s _more_ than likely getting ready for a dinner that is with _that_ girl and she tries to focus on Zen, who she can sense is stood a little uncertainly just behind her. 

“Not if you talk to my family,” Zen tells her bitterly, moving around to join her by the fence now. 

“Your family don’t approve of your acting?” She looks at him with an intrigued kind of surprise about her face and tries to concentrate on him. She’d never really _thought_ much about the matter, not that she would have done until last night in any case because up until that point they hadn’t _really_ spoken or come into contact with one another before and she hadn’t had the chance to _think_ about it the previous night, but she’d always just _assumed,_ even with what Jaehee had told her that what with how involved Zen seems to be in the theatre he must have _some_ support.

“They've disapproved of me ever since I started singing and playing the guitar. Ever since I started _growing_ into my looks in fact. My parents always tried to make out that I wasn’t good-looking because they didn't want me to depend on it for everything.” That must have been hard, MC thinks. Although he can be a bit of a narcissist Zen is what _most_ people would probably consider to be a good-looking boy. It must have been _terribly_ confusing for him to have his parents deny such a fact when they of _all_ people should have been supporting him. “They wanted me to work hard, so I have and I do, but they don’t take my career seriously. It’s like they just think that it’s something that’s _only_ come about because of my looks and that it won’t last and is _nothing_ to be taken seriously…I'm glad I don’t have to put up with them any more.”

“You _don’t?”_ she cautiously asks him. 

“I live on my own,” he tells her. 

“Like Jumin,” she thinks that, that is _another_ thing that Jumin and Zen have in common and wonders again why Jumin had moved out. Surely it would be _easier_ if he lived with his father in terms of the business and in setting up future plans together? Zen scowls. 

“Let’s talk about you now,” he seizes the opportunity and she regrets giving him it, “You’re _smart”-_

“I'm _not.”_

“And I'm guessing that your family, like mine did, want you to have a proper job?” 

_“Yeah…”_ she murmurs, a little absent-mindedly. 

“And I'm guessing that they’d _disapprove_ of you missing your Hagwon? That they _maybe_ wouldn’t like you talking to Jumin either after what happened before?”

_“What_ have you got against him Zen?” she just wants to know that now. She thinks about something. “Do you feel that he’s taken the same stance as your family? That he doesn’t _approve_ of the career that you would like to have and if so then why does it matter to you? It’s not like you have t talk to him all that much. Can’t you just be polite for the time that you _do_ see one another?” 

“I find it hard to ignore stuff like that,” Zen confesses, _“Especially_ when he reminds me of this one other person who’s the worst in my mind.” She wonders who can be worse than his parents? “But I’ll come onto Jumin in a sec. I just wanna say firstly”-he looks kind of awkward and fidgets now-“That if you _ever_ want to talk, y’know, about how to navigate disappointed families, which I don’t think is something that Jumin _knows_ much about.” MC doesn’t feel as certain about that. “Then you can _always_ come to me. I can’t _promise_ to help or give you advice that means much”-he shrugs now and runs a hand through his hair-“It hasn’t _worked_ much for me after all. But I’ll _always_ listen to you and do my best. For now this might help: ‘When you are going through something difficult or not good then it is just a rehearsal for the main event.’ It might just be something that works for me though.” He gives her a lop-sided smile and looks out towards the city. 

_“Thanks,”_ she feels mollified by what he has just said. 

“As for trust fund kid”-

_“Please_ don’t call him that,” she begs him. 

“All right, _Jumin_ then,” Zen seems to understand that he’ll have to amend his ways if they’re going to get on. “He’s got it so good. You see it too right?” She doesn’t say a word, but avoids his eyes because she’s not sure of _anything_ that has to do with Jumin right in that moment. “He’s been born into riches, into his future career and what’s _worse_ is that he doesn’t mind any of it at all.” It is a _good_ thing she feels that Jumin _genuinely_ seems to want to follow in his father’s footsteps in terms of the business though. She can’t imagine _how_ difficult things would be for him if he didn't. “He’s used to getting what he wants,” Zen goes on, “He’s _never_ going to struggle in his career like you or I might do and he’s _still_ got the cushion of his father’s riches to fall back on if he ever messes anything up. He’ll be _fine_ with his easy life.” She thinks that, that’s not exactly true. No matter _who_ Jumin really is he hadn’t seemed fine to her earlier on.

“I'm _sure_ he’s got other things going on,” she can’t help defending him and believes that even if he _does_ give up on her in the end, so that he can take someone else as a wife he will have difficulties at some stage or another. “But is that _why_ you can’t stand him? Or is it because of what you were alluding to before?”

“You’re good,” Zen admits with a bit of a grin on his face and she smiles at him now. “It’s kind of because of _both_ of those things I guess. People like Jumin will _never_ get that people like me work just as hard as he does, but in a different context.” She nods, thinking that, that’s probably a fair comment. “I also find it difficult to get on with him because he reminds me too much of my brother.” 

“Your _brother?”_ she thinks that, that must be the other person who Zen had been referring to earlier. 

_“Yeah,_ so they’re not completely alike or anything, but sometimes the way that Jumin acts-so self-important, y’know? That reminds me of him.” She nods even though that isn’t a side of Jumin that _she’s_ particularly familiar with. She remembers how Jumin has always seemed quite embarrassed about his upbringing in front of her. Maybe she’s just blinded herself though? Filed away every small thing that was in his favour instead of looking at the bigger picture and there are all these things-like perhaps his growing penchant for the opposite sex-that she just hasn’t caught on to really until this point. “I _thought”-_ Zen swings around now, his fists clenched, and he takes a couple of steps away, before he comes back to her once more, clearly struggling with something-“I thought he was on _my_ side,” he sounds distraught at this point and she looks at him sympathetically. “That he would _always_ be on my side,” his voice cracks a little. “He’s my big brother. He _always_ used to explain why my parents never acted as if I was handsome. He always said that they were doing it to protect me in a strange way and I hoped-I _hoped_ that he’d always have a role like that and help me to make sense of things, but when he got older all that began to change and he became just as bad as my parents are. He said that my talent should only be a hobby. He doesn’t seem to _get_ that it is the one thing that keeps me alive and sane and just like Jumin he doesn’t seem to _appreciate_ how much hard work it all takes. He seems to think that it’s all down to my looks that I get any chances, but I don’t, and have _never_ wanted to rely on them alone. I want to be known for _more_ than that.” MC thinks that for a moment, with Zen’s voice infused with a raw, passionate beat, that she can _almost_ understand what Jaehee sees in him. He’s _so_ desperate for the life of an actor and she finds that drive quite appealing. But _Jumin_ has that passion too; only for his cat businesses and for taking over his father’s business someday. _“Still,_ knowing that we have similarities MC it looks to me like you’re a bit lost.” She snorts now because he’s hit the nail on the head there. “That you don’t _know_ what you really want, but I'm afraid that you’re going to feel like you have to rush into deciding and I don’t want you to do _anything_ stupid like deciding that you want the kind of life that a guy like Jumin Han can provide you with if you _really_ don’t. I'm afraid that you’re only going to see that _years_ down the line.”

“I'm not sure how Jumin feels, and you’re _right,_ I don’t have a goal like you do Zen. I _could_ end up making a mistake, but I'm trying not to…” she tries to give herself _that_ much at least, before she looks at him in surprise, “Are you taking a position that’s closer to your family’s and Jaehee’s when it comes to what I really want then? Saying that _I_ should go down the more traditional route when you’ve already gone against that yourself?” she feels slightly outraged about the thing. 

“I'm just saying that I _don’t_ want you to make a mistake, especially if you don’t have a clear goal in mind. Just because this is the right option for me it doesn’t mean that it is for _you._ It’s not going to be for _everyone,”_ he confesses, before he asks, “Have you ever really _thought_ about it properly? A guy like Jumin,” he goes on, “I'm not necessarily saying Jumin _himself_ here, in fact even after _what_ you’ve just said I can’t help but hope that you _really_ don’t feel that way towards him”-he gives her a side-glance-“But I think that you do”-he looks meaningfully at her now and when she swallows his worst thought seems to be confirmed- _“So,_ a guy like him would _not_ be plain-sailing to be involved with and I think that you’re already seeing such a thing. You’d be getting involved with the _heir_ of a giant company. _Nothing_ about your life would be private and I _know_ that your mother died from natural causes MC, that it didn't have _anything_ to do with the Han family at all”-the skin around MC’s cheeks tighten now as her jaw locks and she wonders in that moment if she _should_ tell Zen the truth, but she can’t _really_ bring herself to voice something that would probably play into his argument-“But what she had to go through, before then, _well,_ I know you’re probably smart enough to realize this, so I won’t talk about it much, but don’t you think you should take what happened to her as a warning for your _own_ life? I don’t wanna scare you MC,” she looks at him intently, “I _really_ don’t, but I feel like maybe I'm the _only_ one who can tell you this now and she was probably under”-

“Enormous pressure, yeah I _am_ aware of that.” Zen looks a little tentative at the way that her jaw works for a moment, before she is able to continue, “From _my_ point of view though,” she begins more tentatively, “Yes, of _course_ what you’re saying makes sense to me. I _know_ I should let Jumin walk his path and keep away from him. That is what I have tried to do today. To tell him that _he_ should be director of the company and I should just figure my crap out because he won’t ever look at me in that way and I should allow him to marry someone like that girl who accosted me before we left together”-

_“Sarah,”_ Zen says, suddenly remembering her name now, “Think that she’s spoken to me a couple of times before. I'm not sure however.” 

_“Oh,”_ MC says, and she feels a flare of both anger and sadness towards the other girl for a moment now, before she tries to put it to one side and speak about the _real_ issue that’s at hand, “Anyway, I _know_ he should be with someone like her. That maybe he even _deserves_ to be if she and her whole family have got plenty to offer him and if he loves her as well.”

“Jumin Han in _love?”_ Zen tries to lighten the whole thing with a bit of humour.

“He’s not a robot.” She lets out a little reproving laugh now. Zen looks as if that’s news to him. “So, like I said, he’s _never_ going to look at me in that way and it would scare me if he did. Just being his _friend_ again would put us under a lot of pressure I know and my family would also be a matter to contend with. There would also be the fact that he’s going off to college soon”-

“So you’re worried just about being his friend?” 

_“Yeah…”_ she confesses, looking a little teary-eyed, “I think the kindest thing is what I tried to do today by letting him go. If we _try_ to stay joined together like this then I'm worried that it will destroy us in the end.” She sniffs loudly for a moment. “Yet I-when it comes down to it I'm not really _sure_ if I'm capable of letting go of him. If I could do that even though it might spare his heart some pain”-

“You like him that much, huh?” Zen seems to read her when her expression becomes a more serious one. He also seems to be a little disappointed. 

She shifts her position and nods. “I _know_ you see him differently. He reminds you of your brother and after what you’ve explained I can understand a bit more about _why_ you’re so against him, but to _me…_ he hasn’t really exposed that side of himself y’know? I’ve never _seen_ him in the way that the rest of the RFA and you have done. He was a little cold when we first met sure, a little mistrustful, but then he had every _right_ to be with how his father behaves, bringing new people into his life all the while when Jumin doesn’t _like_ change. I think though, and over time, my mother and I helped him see that _more_ people, as well as Rika and V of course, could not want anything from him. That we weren’t the right kind of people who were going to profit the business in anyway, but that it was _still_ nice for him to get to know us solely _because_ of those things.” Zen thinks that’s not strictly true now. After all MC wants Jumin’s heart. “That we were separate from the rest of his life,” she goes on now, “Maybe _that’s_ what Chairman Han saw in my mother too.” 

“I'm not sure if I need to know all this…” Zen doesn’t know what to make of what is being said. His skin feels kind of tingly for some reason. 

“What I'm trying to say to you Zen is that Jumin was _kind_ to me. On the night-On the night that my mother died”-MC’s voice gets a little choked up now-“He was there for me and he’s tried to be ever since in his own way. Do you remember that fundraising event I did?” Zen nods his head. “Well he made a significant contribution to that”-she can’t tell him of _all_ the extra money that Jumin had donated because that would involve coming clean to him about her mother-“And I know that it is just money and you probably look at it as him _only_ showing off and throwing his cash around, but he was _really_ there for me when it counted. If-If he hadn’t been, if there had just been this silence between us and _then_ it had seemed like he’d moved on from that time then it would be _so_ much easier for me to turn my back on him, but I'm not sure that he _has_ done…we've _both_ changed certainly, but until I know the truth I can’t just walk away from him, no matter _what_ it might lead to, because he was kind to me.” She stares at him desperately now. 

He doesn’t know what to do for the best-this situation seems to have no easy answers-but he tells her, “Just be careful, yeah? Whilst you’re figuring out the truth or hearing from him when you guys next talk or whatever. Just be careful and use your _own_ mind.” She nods. “You going to your Hagwon tonight?” he changes the subject abruptly. 

She thinks on it for a moment. It would please her family if she did such a thing and if Jaehee heard from Zen that she’d gone to her Hagwon tonight then she might back off of MC a bit and give her a bit more time to think. “Yeah, okay.” She thinks that even _if_ she cannot concentrate it might be worth it. 

“I’ll give you a lift back into town then,” he smiles at her and they’re back to a more comfortable light-heartedness together.

“Thanks Zen,” she has to say that however. He looks at her. “For sharing your thoughts with me and for listening. I feel a bit better now.” 

_“Good.”_ He returns to her at that point and puts a comfortable hand around her, as they head back to his bike.

*

MC feels relieved from attending her Hagwon-it _had_ been the right thing to do and for once it had been good to immerse herself in all the sums and she’d felt _pleased_ that even after skipping a night she’d been able to understand what they were working on after a little time. 

She arrives home feeling tired, but proud of herself and calmer too, not having had to think about Jumin or any such complications to her life for a good while and being too exhausted to think about them again that night. For the rest of it she just expects to slip inside, eat, share a few words with her family and then go to bed. It is a surprise to her, however, that when she has done no more than enter through the door things quickly unravel. 

Her father and brother approach her, as they talk in excited voices. They are in smart white shirts, though her brother’s dark blue tie is slung more casually around his shoulders and they don’t seem tired _despite_ the lateness of the hour. 

“What have you got to say for yourself? Did you go to your Hagwon tonight?” asks the angry voice of her father. His words hit her like bullets and she _knows_ that he has discovered the truth about the previous night, though to what extent she cannot be certain of. Slowly she takes off her cherry pink rucksack and holds it in front of her like a shield. 

“Of course I did,” she decides to feign innocence for the moment, “Why _wouldn’t_ I?” 

“Oh-ho, so you _did?_ Well you weren’t there last night,” Bo-Seon says now and she glances at their father, unwilling to get drawn into her brother’s games. 

“I ran into your tutor today,” her father informs her crossly at that point, “He asked me if you were sick. I only understood what he meant when he clarified that you had _not_ attended your Hagwon last night, which was a _first_ to me. I was not aware that there was anything _more_ important than going to what _I_ am paying for.” 

Bo-Seon steps in front of him a little excitedly. “Did your absence have anything to do with the fact that I saw you on the back of a strange boy’s bike today?” MC’s heart dips and she worries now about Zen. Will he pay for his kindness to her? Should she have told him to stay away from her like she had done with Jumin? “Did you _lie_ when you told me that you’d _forgotten_ your watch after studying? Perhaps _he_ has it MC? I gave you that watch in good faith and you lied to me! Who is that boy?” Bo-Seon spits at her. “Tell us now!” MC is frozen. All she can think is that she should have covered her face even if she _wouldn’t_ have been able to properly enjoy the bike ride. “Perhaps you need a reminder? Perhaps _he_ has addled your brain? _Well,_ there I was,” Bo-Seon recites at that point, his eyes growing darker and even more intent, “Carrying out a task for our father at the market when this bike zips by, heading out of town. I look up at all the noise and am astonished to see my _sister_ on the back of it and holding onto a boy that we have not heard anything about before. And if the rumours are true then you are _also_ getting quite close to that Jumin Han again, which concerns me.” His _‘concern’_ sends the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. 

“I'm not”- Zen is one thing and she’d like to protect him if she can, but Jumin is quite another thing entirely. Her family _already_ has a grudge against him and God _knows_ what they will do to him if they jump to the wrong conclusions now. Images of Jumin battered and bloody come to her mind and her heart squeezes in panic. She should never have joined the RFA! She should never have even _spoken_ to Jumin again! 

“Do we have to remind you of _why_ you should not speak to him? Would you like us to _refresh_ your memory, dear sister?”

_“No!”_ she almost shrieks at that point. 

“That is enough,” Hak-Yeon says quietly, but firmly now, before he turns his glare fully on MC. His voice rises as he asks her, _“Why_ weren’t you doing self-study? _Why_ were you out with a strange boy? Who was he?” he gets to what he thinks is the _real_ point now. 

“He is just a _friend_ Father”-

“You seem to have a lot of _male_ friends, sister”- 

_“Indeed,”_ Hak-Yeon picks up the point now, “Why are you associating yourself with so many young boys? This is not how I have brought you up! I am _not_ working at all hours, so that you can throw it all back in my face! If I wanted you to grow up a whore, which is what you have clearly become, then I would have sent you away to live with your mother! Maybe you would have preferred that? To live like her? You would have been around that Han boy all the time then.” The words hit the air like a slap. MC’s rucksack falls from her grasp and to the floor with a loud clunk. She looks between her father and brother in horror, unable to _believe_ that things have gotten this far, before she hastily picks up the rucksack and whirls around. 

“Don’t you even _think_ of leaving! If you do then you will not be welcome here again! I have not finished with you yet”- her father’s voice and loud footsteps chase her to the door. 

Her breath hitches in her throat as her shoulders shake. She flings herself out the door and shuts it behind her with a clumsy hand, before her father can reach out and grab her. She can hear her father and brother arguing, _and,_ with an aching head she runs for the stairs and clatters down them before they can come after her. They will at some point, she knows, and she must get away before they can. 

*

Jumin can’t _believe_ what he’s just heard. He’s sat with his father, Glam Choi and Sarah in the larger dining room at his father’s apartment because Glam Choi _absolutely_ refuses to dine in the smaller one like MC’s mother had liked to do. That’s not the _only_ difference between them, however, and Jumin suddenly finds that he cannot eat another mouthful of his veal. He lowers his cutlery to his plate and looks instead with a maddening urgency to his father. His stare is wasted on him however. Whilst Chae-Yeong had still addled his father’s mind like all women do to a point she had at _least_ been a good influence on him and would have noticed if Jumin was trying to attract his father’s attention and told Chairman Han about it or left them to it. Glam Choi, on the other hand, has _completely_ taken over his father’s head and she does not _care_ about such things as a mere father-son relationship. She giggles churlishly as his father cannot keep his eyes from her. Some food has dribbled down his shirt because of the thing and Glam Choi cleans him up with a finger, which she licks as he chuckles. Jumin does not know _where_ he should look and sighs, feeling like it was a waste of his time in coming to join the meal that night. He could be at home, drinking a little wine, whilst gazing at Elizabeth the 3rd’s cloud like white fur and thinking more _properly_ about what he can do about MC and the situation between them. He _still_ feels all mixed up after seeing her on the back of Zen’s bike, but now he has something else to worry about. “Surely you cannot be _serious_ Father?” he finally tries to break up the flirtation between his father and Glam Choi. 

Chairman Han looks at him in a disgruntled fashion now, as if he has just been pulled out of a very nice thought and Jumin has spoilt it all. “I am very serious son.”

“But-we had a plan for the business?” Jumin attempts more desperately, trying to do _whatever_ he can to bring his father back down to earth at that point. “I do not wish to discuss it in front of unworthy company”- he glances at Glam and Sarah, who give him heated and challenging stares in turn-“But we had a _plan?”_ he repeats. 

“Do not be so ungentlemanly in front of our guests Jumin. It is not the way I have brought you up,” Chairman Han looks ruffled now and frowns, before he elaborates, “You will have a straight forward enough time in joining the business as it is. I could have _made_ you start a new one. _Away_ from C & R. Challenged you a little bit more.” Jumin believes that, that is less to do with his good fortune and _more_ to do with the fact that his father would be worried, as he would, about what competing with one another would do to their relationship. He hopes that his father still has his best interests at heart and enough common sense to know what the right thing for him _is_ despite the fact that his father is under some serious manipulation from Glam Choi right in this moment. His father has always had his own voice after all. Jumin just has to hope that his father will find it again or that _he_ himself might be able to do something in order to unlock it. “You should have some gratitude then”-Jumin’s fists clench in that moment-“And accept that because of the circumstances our initial plans need to change, _and,_ in any case you were always going to get married eventually, a few years here and there hardly makes a difference does it Jumin? The more time that you have with your loved ones the better.” 

Jumin stares at his father. He cannot _believe_ that he is using the death of MC’s mother in order to make his point. As if she is evidence for _why_ Jumin’s life should be ruined. Is this what it has come to? 

_“Ah,_ but you are so romantic my love! That is one of the things that I adore most about you,” Glam Choi says, irking Jumin further, and as she puts her manicured hand on his father’s arm he practically growls at her. 

“What’s the _first_ on the list of what you like about my father? His bank balance?” he can’t help himself. 

_“Jumin!”_ His father’s face grows stormy. “You are tainted by the poor way that some women have unfortunately treated us. They are not _all_ like that son! You have to open your eyes and see that now.” Jumin wonders about MC again. “You have to _understand_ that it is the rational thing to do and that there is _no_ conspiracy. Economies are tipping all over the world. Business is not as stable as it once was. I should _not_ have to point out to you that people might have a little more faith in C & R if they _know_ that its future is steady. It would _also_ do me good to be a hundred per cent certain about that fact,” he says, “So that we can get on with the _actual_ running of the thing.” Jumin thinks now of how his father and he both like to be a hundred per cent sure of things. “More to the point,” his father growls at him gruffly, “I think it might actually benefit _you,_ Jumin.” Jumin stares at him in shock. “It has come to my attention that you are _still_ rather struggling with what happened before?” Come to his attention from _who?_ Jumin wonders. He feels enraged at always being the attention of such gossip. 

“If you mean the death of the best woman that you have ever dated”-he takes a deep breath at that point as he looks back to his father-“The woman who I would _not_ have been so opposed to having as my step-mother”-

_“Jumin!_ Stop being so rude in front of our guests! Have you _really_ become so cold to people’s feelings son? They are not out to harm us!” Chairman Han waves his arms about and nearly knocks over one of the side-dishes that have been left on the table. All Jumin can see though is the sight of the white napkin that is fastened around his father’s neck like a white flag and right in that moment Jumin wants to wrench it off him and tell him to stop surrendering to these kinds of people. To stop being so gluttonous in this aspect of his life. 

“I am _trying_ Father, to be understanding. I _know_ you are lonely.” Jumin’s breath comes out all the heavier now. Chairman Han glances at their guests a little awkwardly with a fixed smile upon his face. “I know that for _you,_ this is how you operate. You _crave_ female company. You cannot live without it. You don’t even seem able to do it any less on my behalf and I know that you _do_ care about me”-

_“Ju”-_

“I have been patient.” Jumin takes yet another breath now. His eyes are almost shut. His head is screaming out in agony because of all of this and the day that he has had. “I have _done_ what you wanted me to and worked hard, so that I can dedicate my life to the business. You have _never_ found fault with me before now and I appreciate how supportive you have been.” All their eyes are upon him. “But when you take up with someone who is clearly _so_ …so underhand and cruel, when it is effecting _my_ personal life, then I'm afraid I cannot stay out of such a thing any more. I will not be marrying _her.”_ He gestures at Sarah in disgust. “I will _never_ do such a thing, for as long as I live.” He thinks back to MC again. No matter _what_ she is like in reality she has, for such a long time of them knowing one another, seemed a _world_ away from this creature who now sits too close to him and he is suddenly determined to find out who MC _really_ is and the answers to all his questions without their families and the RFA getting in their way. 

“She cares for you son,” his father breaks him out of his determined thought now and Jumin notices that he looks sad about the whole thing. “I am pained that it has come to this point where you are so fixated on what could have been that you can’t even have room in your heart for what _still_ can be.” That’s not true, Jumin thinks, he _still_ has that kind of hope inside him, but it has never been about Sarah and slowly he tips closer to what his true feelings are for MC, but before he can discover them fully his father carries on, “Perhaps this is all _my_ fault. Maybe we should have discussed it more.” They hadn’t discussed it at _all,_ Jumin thinks now, unless his father means the brief conversation that they’d had when the body had first been found or the argument that he’d had upon his return from MC’s apartment, which had led to him moving out.

“Ah, my love, please do not blame yourself. I'm _sure_ that you did the best you could. It could not have been easy to raise a son by yourself, eh? A son who is _so_ much like his father. I hear that you are getting a lot of attention at school Jumin.” She looks at him both somehow inclusively and testily now. “Sarah tells me that unfortunately you are being harassed by the daughter of one of your father’s previous acquaintances?” she uses that term lightly in that moment, and Jumin feels annoyed that it had been _Sarah_ who had initially provided the information that had been passed on to his father, though not particularly surprised about the fact. He _does_ wonder, however, how close Sarah and Glam _are_ in that moment for Sarah to have _known_ that she would pass the message along. Are they closer than student and mentor? Or had Sarah just trusted what she’d known of Glam’s character and made the judgement herself?

“The daughter of the woman who we have just been discussing,” Sarah draws on from Glam’s beginning now and Jumin does not feel comfortable with MC being _directly_ mentioned in the conversation. All the threads of his life seem to be crossing over, but creating a mess rather than anything that is elegant and he doesn’t like it.

_“Yes,_ but I fear, from what Sarah here has been telling me that you have tried to be a little _too_ kind and understanding to her Jumin. Much like your father,” she lays a hand on Chairman Han’s arm _[‘O-Ho!’]_ “Your best traits can get you in to trouble sometimes.”

“We _only_ want the best for you and to get you out of this situation by pushing you onto a safer track,” Chairman Han informs him now. 

_“Yes,”_ Glam smiles sweetly and Jumin almost chokes on the sugar that she is providing him with, but then she frowns, “We can’t have _everyone_ thinking that they can go up to you for every little thing. It could get you into _trouble_ Jumin dear.” The smile comes back onto her face once more.

“People already do that and that is _not_ the case with MC. You've got her wrong,” Jumin scrapes his chair back now. He has been _trying_ to run away from the possibility that MC is the same as all the other women he has known-with the exception of Rika and Elizabeth the 3rd-ever since he’d seen her on the back of Zen’s bike earlier on and he does _not_ want to face it in front of his father and these horrible women now. 

“Perhaps the reason you are so upset at the thought of marrying Sarah is because you are _already_ in love Jumin? With the wrong girl?”

The thought hits Jumin _hard._ It makes all his breath slam against his chest. “I have to go. I'm sorry that it has come to this Father.” He pushes his plate and cutlery away from him and stands up. 

_“Jumin…”_ Sarah begins as if he is making things worse on himself when there is no need for him to do so. “Please come here and let me comfort you. We can talk about this like a proper couple. I _know_ we are right for one another. I want to go into business too”-

But Jumin’s head is spinning all too much for him to hear any of it. He sees MC talking about cat businesses. MC smiling as she looks at him, whilst stroking Elizabeth the 3rd. MC making him have faith in people again. Making him think that not _everyone_ is so cruel, manipulative and only using them for their _own_ personal gain. Zen lurks uncomfortably in the back of his mind now and he turfs him out, so that MC has prime occupation of it again. He remembers how she’d spoken anxiously on the phone to him the day before her mother had died and _then_ how he’d gone to her on the night of Chae-Yeong’s death and she’d held onto him so tightly and his heart had been fit to burst with anything he could do to make it better for her. He’d wanted to be there for her. It had felt _good_ to have her depending on him for those few minutes, but terrible to boot and agonizing to later watch her be so miserable at school and to then be aware of the fact that he had to give her space. That her family does not like him. That he _hadn’t_ been able to make things better for her beyond using his money as he would normally with anything else. He’d been _gutted_ when she’d refused to join the RFA and had seemed to be terrified of him and it had been like things would never heal. He’d just _wanted_ things to go back to how they had been when they’d been so _good_ before. When they’d been _able_ to talk to one another so naturally and he’d enjoyed himself with her more than he ever had done with any other person in his entire life. He remembers when she’d burst into the room where the meeting for the RFA had been conducted and how he’d slowly gotten increasingly hopeful and overwhelmed from that and from the experience of being with her in the gallery later that night. He’d _hoped,_ for one moment that everything would be good again and had felt fiercely protective of her, as well as something else. Had that something else been _love?_ He knows that he hadn’t liked the thought of her being with Zen. Had that been _jealousy_ on his part? He has never felt such a thing before and since his thoughts stagger off confusedly because of his lack of answers he becomes aware of the fact that the occupants in the room are looking at him and that his father is doing so imploringly, as if he is _begging_ him to see reason. 

“See how kind she is son?” Jumin stupidly thinks that he means _MC_ for a moment. MC has _always_ been so generous and understood him. Whoever she is he _knows_ in that moment and from relieving his memories of her that he has _not_ wasted his time with her, but he hopes more than anything else that she is _not_ like the rest of the women in his life, especially if Glam Choi _is_ telling the truth and he _does_ actually feel that way about her. 

“I have to go,” he blurts out. He has to find out the truth and he has to do it now. It cannot wait any longer.

“But where to? Your penthouse? Why not spend a bit longer with _us_ Jumin? You need to stop being so stuck in your head and spend time with those who _care_ about you”- 

“No, I need to be with MC, somewhere far away from you all, so that I can figure all of this out.” He looks at them blankly and suddenly seems to realize that he has spoken out loud. Sarah begins to cry, clawing at her face with her fake nails and hiccuping pathetically. 

“Hush, hush,” Glam Choi soothes her quickly, but there is an impatience there also and as she half-stands up and moves to place an arm around her comfortingly there is an element of something falling apart. Jumin does not know what it is. His father stares at him with _severe_ disappointment about his face, as if to tell him to look at what he has done.

_But,_ and not wanting to face it right now, Jumin whirls around and rushes off towards the elevator. “Don’t come with me!” he snaps at the approaching guards. He will _not_ be trapped by them. They look at Chairman Han uncertainly. He must give them a nod because Jumin is allowed to step forwards into the elevator alone. He does not turn around until the doors are shut behind him and then he feels almost suffocated from being in such a small space. Though glamorous it is not what he needs right now and he nearly retches on the lavender scent. To curious stares he hurries swiftly through the reception area and steps into the dimly lit street outside, the cold air swirling all around him. Driver Kim is waiting for him and Jumin rushes towards the car, glad that he always has such an escape on standby and that Driver Kim is an excellent driver. He has thoughts of going to where MC lives, of dragging her away from her family, so that he can talk to her. He becomes so suddenly worried about _how_ he will do such a thing and be _able_ to get all his answers that night that he, at first, considers the possibility that he might be hallucinating when he sees her stopping across the road from the building, her cherry pink rucksack upon her back, whilst she stares at him. She looks cold and is still in her school uniform. Her hair is loose and windswept. He remembers the motorbike and Zen and he hesitates, something dark swirling in his chest as he looks at her. His fingers are half-around the handle of the car door-one further squeeze from him and he could be inside the vehicle and out of there in two seconds flat. He would _not_ have to face her today or anything more than what he has done already. Maybe he _needs_ to be more aware of all the different options and consequences of such actions, before he reacts? He could go to his penthouse, he thinks. Shut himself off from his father’s calls and the RFA messenger to boot and only have Elizabeth the 3rd for company. He sees MC crying in the light however and the way that her eyes are _shining_ at him hopefully and in an instant his mind is made up. He goes around there, drags her back to the car without a word, though she does gurgle and protest at his grip, before he wrestles her bag from her, opens one of the back car doors and pushes her inside. He quickly goes around, deposits her bag in the trunk of the car as he does so and gets into the car on the other side, urging Driver Kim to flee. Kim nods and skids off efficiently, taking them both away from Jumin’s father’s apartment at last.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the support! :3

Jumin lets out a heavy sigh of relief, but then he catches sight of MC’s face as the car travels beneath a street light and he sees the way that tears stick to it like a glistening cobweb and the way that she continues to look so fragile. Being with him doesn’t seem to have made her _any_ happier at all. He hesitates, but in the end he can’t help but ask, “What is it?” with an insistent urgency that he almost hates himself for because he still feels so torn. The only things that are clear in his mind are the facts that they have to get away and he _has_ to get to know her more. Everything else is just a knotted mess and tangle. 

She leans forward and takes a deep breath. She wishes to tell him everything. She just feels as if she might crumble if she allows it to come out of herself in _that_ particular moment. Jumin considers for a second that the driving might be making her feel unwell and telling Driver Kim to adjust his speed, but that makes little sense to him because Driver Kim’s handling of the car is as smooth as it ever is. He watches as MC’s hand clenches onto the curve of the leather seat. Her throat seems to be working overtime. Maybe she is simply trying to get the words out. “I'm not sure if I”-

Jumin takes immediate offence, before she’s even finished. “You would probably prefer to tell Zen”- 

_“Zen?!”_ She looks at Jumin in shock now. Driver Kim’s eyes go to them in the mirror. 

_“Mm._ That’s correct. It is not a surprise to me that he was reckless enough to take you away on his motorbike, but I expected better from you. Are you even _aware_ how dangerous motorbikes are MC? I will have to send my research papers to you. Now we can take you to where Zen lives, but in the future I would prefer it if you allowed _me_ to arrange a limousine for you rather than going anywhere by bike again. It is not safe for you Princess”-

“I don’t _want_ to go to Zen’s and I don’t _need_ you to arrange a limo for me!” she’s still in shock about what he’s just said. Jumin’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “But I-I can’t go home either. _Please_ don’t take me there.” She looks at him with such urgency now that it almost knocks the breath out of him. “I _know_ I have no right to ask after what I said today and after I left you the way that I did, _but”-_ She grips onto his arm.

He feels puzzled about her plea and wants to find out more about it and where it has come from. There is something more pressing to his mind that needs to be cleared up however. “There is _nothing_ between Zen and you? He is not your boyfriend or someone who you would _like_ to be your boyfriend? If you do then perhaps you are better off going to him like I have said. I'm _sure_ that he will take good care of you.” 

“And you _won’t?”_ she looks at him desperately now and considers the fact of whether he might be jealous or not, but she’s got bigger things to think about than that faint hope in that moment. She wonders if she had made a mistake? Her feet had led her rather desperately to Chairman’s Han apartment and Jumin _still_ hasn’t said whether he is taking her back home. Does it depend on what answer she gives him? “I need you right now!” she implores him. _“Please_ don’t take me home!”

“Are you with Zen?” he asks her testily. He swipes her hand off his arm crossly, not wanting her to touch him if she _is_ with Zen. “Do you have feelings for him? Because you _know_ that his looks are going to fade don’t you? That in time they will be the _first_ to abandon him?” He is annoyed by the way that she seems to be stalling for an answer. What is she trying to hide from him?

“No and no and”- she’s hesitant now and half-turns her head away from him. She wants to ask him something too since he’s plucking at this thread so much. 

“What is it?” he urges her. He’s not _sure_ if he loves her, but he doesn’t want there to be anything getting in the way of them any more. He knows _that_ much at least. 

She looks at him slowly once more. “The only reason I went with Zen was because I _had_ to get out of there. I didn't know what to say to you.” Jumin’s heart sinks now. “I was _so_ confused about everything.” He _knows_ how that feels. “One moment it felt as if I should be carrying on through with what I’d said on the roof to you and the next”-he cannot help but feel hope-“All day in fact, but _I-_ it’s not important.” Something tumbles back down inside him again at the implication that _although_ she might regret what she’d rashly said to him before it doesn’t matter to her. That he might not _mean_ as much to her as she does to him. “I need to ask-I need to _know”-_ she clears her throat a little awkwardly now and Jumin feels increasingly befuddled about the whole thing- _“Is_ there anything between Sarah and you?” The question makes him feel both a stab of annoyance at Sarah’s name being mentioned and a renewed hope regarding the situation with MC, but it is the thunder that dominates his expression and which she picks up on the most easily. _“Oh,_ there is…I see,” she misinterprets it wrongly as him being angry at her for interfering in his personal life and it is _her_ turn for her heart to sink at the separation that is coming between them. Jumin wonders how she could _ever_ believe in such a silly thing. Hadn't he _made_ his feelings clear about how he feels towards those sorts of people? MC almost wishes for a moment, in her state of confusion, that she _were_ with Zen, not that it would probably hurt any less if she was. Of _course_ he’d choose someone like Sarah she chides herself. He enjoys attention like anyone else. Who _wouldn’t?_ “I'm sorry if I’ve ruined your night or anything,” she says and Jumin almost _groans_ at how unusually thick headed she is being. “I’ll try and not get in your way. I just need somewhere to stay for one night and then I’ll-I’ll sort something else out. I can explain it all to Sarah if you want me to and say that it’s all above board? Maybe if I get a part-time job, so that I can pay them then Jaehee’s aunt and uncle would let me stay with them?” she doesn’t exactly _relish_ the prospect, but it would be better than nothing and probably give her a good chance to fix things with Jaehee in turn. 

“You are giving me a headache Princess.” Jumin rubs at his forehead. He does not know even where to _begin_ picking out the faults in what she has just told him and worse of all she has said it in such a cute way that he is only able to get _so_ frustrated with her. “Perhaps you could remain silent for a while?”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” She is embarrassed that she has made a nuisance of herself again. Her hands quickly fold together, whilst a deep and humiliating blush forms upon her cheeks. He feels sympathy towards her, for he would not normally-and probably _not_ since the first few weeks in their relationship-have talked to her so harshly.

“Forgive me for being so inconsiderate,” he murmurs apologetically. 

“No-No you are absolutely right to”-

“There is _nothing_ between Sarah and I. I couldn't wait to get out of there in fact. I was just about to come and find you.” 

“You _were?”_ she’s unable to believe it now. Her heart lifts in hope, before she reminds herself, “But something happened between Sarah and you tonight, didn't it? You’ve been in a bad mood.” 

“You are not the _only_ one who wishes to keep some things to themselves for now Princess,” Jumin sighs at her, “But whilst we are on the subject of Sarah-what happened between the pair of you earlier? I saw you speaking with one another.” 

MC hesitates for a moment, but Jumin looks at her stubbornly. “She-She said something about how I don’t understand the circles that you both move in.” Jumin groans. “She made out that she was superior to me, which was no surprise to me _really”-_ he is sad that she thinks this way and hopes that _he_ hasn’t made her feel such a thing of late- _“But…_ she said that you were moving on with her, not that _we”-_ she amends herself quickly. 

“I _know_ our past history MC,” he informs her gently. 

“Of course-Of course you do,” she’s a little mortified, “She made out that my mother and I were past news in your life”-

She’s aware of _nothing,”_ Jumin mumbles angrily now and MC feels glad for _that_ much at least. 

“She warned me not to come near you,” she feels safe enough to share.

“And it upset you? What she and other people were saying?”

“I could _cope_ with most of them, even though it _was_ annoying,” she admits now, “But she was the first to say that she was having _dinner_ with you. It threw me for a second.” 

“You thought _I_ was becoming like my father? That I _enjoyed_ such a thing? When the truth is that I didn't even _know_ about the wretched dinner until she told me or had forgotten about it anyway. I wish I’d never gone to it.”

“What exactly-?” 

“For a moment it doesn’t matter. We need to get away.” The truth is that the _only_ way you can muffle the city is to get far enough away from it. He squeezes at MC’s cold hand. “Wait here for me,” he instructs her. 

“But _I”-_ the car stops in front of a tall skyscraper that MC assumes must be where Jumin lives. Without a further word to her or her being able to say anything more in turn he gets out of the car and shuts the door neatly behind him. She peers down, so that she can watch more clearly as in the next second he disappears inside the building. She wonders _what_ had happened and what is going on. She straightens up and looks at Driver Kim uncertainly through the mirror. 

“Best to just trust him Miss. MC,” he advises her, “He appears very agitated and unsettled about something, but I'm glad that you are with him.”

“You _are?”_ She doesn’t know _why_ he is. She just feels as if she’s made everything _worse_ for Jumin that night. 

“You seem to soothe something inside him,” he reassures her now, but she still continues to look most anxious and he is reminded of a time when her mother had sat in the back of this exact same vehicle and had looked similarly so. She’d had her head tilted to the side then and had looked out of the window just as MC is doing in the present. 

“I am not sure if I will _always_ be able to be with him Driver Kim. If circumstances will _allow_ me to. He’s going off to college,” MC frets worriedly. She stares at him now. 

“Just do your best,” he urges her, hoping that, that will be enough even though MC seems to be struggling to believe it will be in that moment. “The young sir appreciates it, as do I.”

She nods more determinedly, before her façade falls. “But _where_ is he planning on going? And does he _really_ expect you to drive to _wherever_ when you must be tired and it is already very late or early depending on how you look at things?” 

“I assure you that my concentration levels are fine,” he tells her, “And I have an _idea_ where he might like to go. I can always stop on the way there if need be, but it is not such a horrid journey. In any case if it would have managed to prevent your mother from doing what she did then I would have driven Chairman Han and her a thousand miles, so I am willing to do the same if it should help the young sir and you.” MC is moved by such words. “It is very important to sort any issues between you out, before they get any worse, and if you need time away to do it then you have my full support on that.” 

“Thank you Driver Kim. You won’t tell Chairman Han where we are if Jumin does not want you?” she asks when she has that sudden thought. 

“I will leave Chairman Han to the young sir,” Driver Han confirms now. 

“…Thank you.” She looks away for a time again and finally Jumin returns. 

He seems to be struggling between attempting to carry a cat carrier, which has a disgruntled looking Elizabeth the 3rd inside of it and a carry case on wheels. Driver Kim gets out to assist him at that point and MC is reminded of the fact that Jumin had once had to be helped to use a vending machine in school. She’d been in the same queue as him, but hadn’t _dared_ to help him because there had been enough attention on both families as there was back then-that had been the time when her mother had still been dating Chairman Han. She hears Jumin and Driver Kim discussing something as they put the carry case in the trunk-all the cold air of course comes in the car and makes MC shiver at that point-and though she is able to pick up on the occasional word she is unable to string anything concrete together. The traffic noise is a problem for that too. The door of the trunk gets shut and she can hear Jumin continuing to say something. She wonders what he is speaking about. _Then,_ in the next moment, the car door that is opposite her gets opened and Elizabeth the 3rd bursts free from the carrier as a pale hand lifts up the mesh door from the carrier’s entrance. Watching it is like observing a magic trick. Elizabeth the 3rd slides across to her, mewling unhappily and ends up on her lap as soon as she recognizes her. She pads her paws upon MC’s legs and eventually settles down due to MC stroking her. 

“There, there Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin croons, as he clambers into the car too, scoots across to her and drags the carrier in with him, leaving it on his other side, whilst Driver Kim shuts the door for him. Jumin also has a book bound in a red cover, but he leaves it on his lap as he strokes at the cat. It brings back the memory of when they’d _both_ done such a thing at his father’s penthouse when her mother had still been alive. “I told you that you could be released for the car journey if you were good and you are _always_ good so there is no problem there…She does not like being confined,” he informs MC now, and that’s when MC fully takes note of the fact that he has changed out of his school uniform and into a black suit, a pinstripe grey and white shirt and black tie. He has a purple pocket-handkerchief in his breast pocket and appears more the businessman’s son than she has ever seen him before, which is ironic really when you consider the circumstances. “You should have been reading out your awful jokes to MC, Driver Kim, instead of allowing her to look so serious,” he says when Driver Kim gets into the car too. 

“I will bear that in mind if there is a next time, sir,” Driver Kim assures him, uncertain, like MC, as to whether Jumin himself had been joking or not, for there had been a bit of an edge to his tone. 

“You look nice,” she observes, trying to soften any remaining agitation that might be about him and he pinkens ever so slightly.

“Thank you,” he tells her pleasantly now, before he plucks at the tie and then worries, “I hope you do not mind? When I was packing a few bits and pieces it suddenly occurred to me that I had been wearing what I had all day long and I _had_ to get it off at once.” She does not remark that _she’s_ in the same position, but something must show on her face, for he adds, “Do not worry however. Everyone knows that we are coming and I have arranged for some clothes that should fit you to be brought there.” 

“You shouldn't have and _where_ is it that we are going to? You’re not going to make Driver Kim”- Driver Kim starts the engine of the car in perhaps a plea for her not to drag _him_ into all of this. 

“Driver Kim”-Jumin does so anyway-“Agrees with me that you need to start putting _yourself_ first for once. Stop listening to what everyone else is saying and listen to what _you_ want to do. Would you like to accompany me for a few days Princess? We will be back for my graduation ceremony and the party.” He looks nervous at the prospect of her rejection. 

“Yes I would,” MC doesn’t hesitate now, “But I still need more details. _Where-?”_

“Do you trust me Princess?” He looks slightly lighter at her words, but still grasps at her hand rather desperately and tangles it in the hair of Elizabeth the 3rd. The cat appears happy that they are seemingly willing to pay so much attention to her. She purrs loudly. 

_“Yes,”_ MC says firmly now, “I do and I would _like_ to go with you, no doubt about it, even if you _are_ being very mysterious.” She smiles at him, telling him that she is aware of the control that she is giving him. 

Jumin seems relieved. “Then nothing else matters, just know that there _are_ some things I can do because of who I am,” he re-works what she’d told him earlier and gives her a meaningful look now. She senses the importance of the moment and nods. He tells Driver Kim that he should carry on as planned-obviously they had discussed the final destination in more detail when they’d been outside of the car and away from her prying ears-before he announces to MC, “We will probably be there at first light. You should try and get some rest. I could read to you if you like?” He flourishes the book at her. “Rika gave it to me. I have not been able to get through it all yet, but am determined to. She said that when I do I am to tell her what I thought of it and what happens in it since she could not get through it herself and found it to be a bit dry.” 

MC is once more reminded of how helpful that Jumin tries to be to his friends and nods. He flips the book open eagerly.

His voice begins to bathe the car like the light that they are expecting to see in a few hours time. The remaining tension from listening to them talk disappears from Driver Kim’s shoulders. MC grows sleepier and Elizabeth the 3rd moves in between Jumin and MC. Jumin takes a break from the book and scratches absentmindedly behind her ears, before he continues to read. MC shifts a little herself and leans over Elizabeth the 3rd so that she is able to rest her head down on Jumin’s shoulder. He falters in his reading and swallows prominently. “Is this okay?” she asks him, before she clarifies, “You don’t have to read any more if you’re getting tired too.” 

He hesitates a moment, before he murmurs to her honestly, “It is of no inconvenience to me and you have not been one to me tonight or on any other. You are the _only_ one who could never be such a thing.” 

“You are such a good friend to me Jumin. I-I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She’s grateful to him. 

“I feel the same way Princess.” She squeezes at his hand. A few moments afterwards he feels her hold lessening on him as she drifts off to sleep. Elizabeth the 3rd dozes in between them, peering out with half-lidded eyes. They glint in the light, before they close again. “Driver Kim?” Jumin says, feeling for a moment as if he is _so_ vulnerable, but pushing it down as he usually does. “My father wishes me to marry Sarah”-Driver Kim cannot stop himself from wincing at that point and looks hurriedly and apologetically into the mirror-“No, you are right,” Jumin seems to find Driver Kim’s reaction to be both an amusing and ironic one and he wishes for a moment that his father could pay more attention to the man. “Why is it that I find, after not being interested in the opposite sex for my entire life that at the precise _moment_ my father wants me to marry it seems to me that it matters more than ever before that I do _not_ marry the wrong person? That I only wish that I knew for sure who the _right_ one was?” He half-glances at MC now. 

As a man of more experience Driver Kim _fervently_ hopes that everything will work out well for both Jumin and MC, but first he must answer his question and he is afraid that Jumin will _only_ find the answer all the _more_ troubling. “You are feeling that way Jumin because your father does not control your _heart._ He can try and nudge you into what he _views_ is the right college, he can steer you with your future career to a certain point, but the one thing that he can _never_ do, though he might try, is control who you fall in love with.”

Jumin takes in his words for a moment, before he asks, “Are you saying that I am in love with someone who my father would disagree with? That I have to _choose_ Driver Kim? Between the two things?” he sounds terse at the prospect and his stomach becomes tighter, but just like the roads Driver Kim knows how to handle him. 

“You don’t have to _choose,_ sir because you have already chosen, at least subconsciously,” Driver Kim informs him now, half-watching as Jumin puts an arm protectively around MC’s shoulder and holds her to him, as they go over a bit of a bump in the road. He smiles. Jumin looks at Driver Kim confusedly through the mirror, whilst Elizabeth the 3rd makes some absent-minded sound. Jumin’s eyes flick down to her for a moment, before they go back to the mirror when he has seen that the cat is all right. “You have left home. You are here with MC,” Driver Kim elaborates, “And on your way to one of the _few_ places that you find to be the most comforting in the entire world. I know that part of you believes that you are merely going there to think and discuss in an environment that will _enable_ you to do such a thing, but part of you has _already_ thought, sir. You made your mind up when you pulled MC into this car instead of leaving her there”-

“I could _never_ leave her Driver Kim,” Jumin is passionate now. “And yet my father…I never thought I would leave _him_ or let anything come between us.”

“Children outgrow their parents in the end,” Driver Kim says wisely, “You will still love and respect him no doubt, as all sons and daughters should, but you are seeking solace from both MC and that place right now _instead_ of the comfort that you would usually have from your father, which tells me very much. In spite of your father there is a saying, ‘the heart wants what it wants,’ after all.”

“ ‘The heart wants what it wants,’” Jumin repeats now. “What can _you_ deduce from the situation Driver Kim? Am I in love with MC like you seem to _think_ that I am? _Is_ she the right person for me?”

“Only _you_ can answer those things, sir.” Driver Kim meets Jumin’s eyes in the mirror now. 

Jumin is not sure if he loves her. Not because he _doubts_ how strongly he feels for MC or _questions_ that he only feels in such a way because of what they have been through. He is here with her after all like Driver Kim has told him and he had not wanted to be separated from her after her mother’s death, even _though_ he could have broken off all ties with her at that point and that might have been the easiest thing for them both in the long run. Something had not _let_ him do it though. Rather he is _uncertain_ about it all because he _isn’t_ sure what love outside of family feels like. He doubts that _his_ definition of it is the correct one and even if he _does_ love her then how is he meant to know that she _is_ the right person for him? Does he just trust what his gut tells him? What if he gets it wrong? He glances at her now. He does not want to hurt MC. He hopes that things like that might become clearer on the trip and pecks at her hair absentmindedly. He tilts his head down against hers. Elizabeth the 3rd stretches somewhat and settles down. Jumin stubbornly closes his eyes until he falls asleep. 

*

When MC next awakes it is a surprise to her that she has _not_ done such a thing any sooner for the light sharply hits her eyes and she is forced to close them again. Her heart beats unevenly; before she attempts to flutter her eyes open once more. They get part of the way there, before the light is too strong. She succumbs to shutting them. Her head aches a little and her throat feels raw, her jaw locked as if she has been fighting back words of either fear, sadness or anger or maybe even all three in her sleep. She is still tired. They appear to have stopped moving and to be in some sort of lay-by, though she is the only one in the car-she’d managed to ascertain that much at least when her eyes had briefly been open. 

The car door opens on the other side now and she feels Elizabeth the 3rd brushing against her. 

“Be careful Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin says in a protective tone that MC has seldom heard from him, “You don’t want to wake MC.” Usually it’s the _cat_ that he worries after and she feels touched that this time it is _her_ instead. 

“The young miss is still asleep?” Driver Kim checks and she hears his door opening a fraction later. 

_“…Yes,”_ comes Jumin’s slow reply, “Do you think we should wake her?” 

She can feel all the attention on her in that moment. 

_“Hm,”_ Driver Kim considers, “We do not have too far to go. I will be able to get us there in forty-five minutes.” 

“Yes, and she looks so comfortable too doesn’t she? A true princess,” Jumin says fondly. 

Her heart jumps at his words and she hopes that he doesn’t notice. As far as she can tell Driver Kim does not respond in any way to what Jumin has just told him. Of course he could have done so non-verbally, but it is hard for her to tell with her eyes shut. She can feel the weight of them being added to the car and then the doors are all closed and they are trundling off once more. The car warms up and MC falls back into her slumber, the rocking motion of the car aiding her into a deep sleep…

*

_“…Princess?”_ Someone is shaking her awake gently. The voice sounds kind of familiar to her, but she can’t place it in her tired state. All she knows is that it is disturbing her and she attempts to move away from the hand that is rocking her. She tries to roll over in her bed, but then she realizes that she’s not in bed and that her neck is stiff. A sudden feeling of alarm goes through her. Has she fallen out of bed? Is it her father or brother who is causing all the fuss? She remembers coming home and something not being right. They’d had an argument or more accurately a particularly hateful word had been flung her way. Her stomach clenches. _God,_ if she is already in their bad graces and they have _now_ caught her sleeping on the floor!-She opens her eyes. 

_“Jumin!”_ It all comes back to her-she had not gone to her room as she usually would have done after enduring an encounter with her family, but had left the apartment altogether and found Jumin. Now they seem to have arrived at whatever place he has brought her to and he is staring down at her so softly from where he is stood outside the car on her side that his face almost doesn’t look solid. She touches at his cheek to check now and feels a bit of warmth on the cold morning. He blinks at the gesture and appears stunned by it, but his face is gentle. “Did we _really-?”_ she wants to make sure that this is not part of a dream. “Are we _really_ here together? Did we _really_ get away from it all?” 

“Yes, yes Princess. I am sorry to have to wake you, but it is time for you to be getting out of the car now.” 

“Oh, of course.” She stretches her stiff legs. Her mind still feels sore from everything that has gone on, but it is as a blessing that she is with Jumin. He undoes her seatbelt for her and offers her his hand. He helps her out of the car when she takes it. She blinks a little, lets go and looks around her eagerly. 

“We have come to what used to be my father’s cherry farm,” he tells her now, “It is mine in the present,” he goes on when she looks at him curiously, “Father gave it to me as a gift at the beginning of the new year. He told to me that by the time the cherries produce a good harvest, for it used to be a strawberry farm you see, I should be graduated, not just from high school, but college too and can use it as one of my first business projects to work on. Of course the place is essentially still father’s and I am sure that he will _continue_ to holiday here whenever he feels like it, but it is mine officially.” His eyes gleam with something. “It is a shame that we are not coming here two months later when they will surely be starting to blossom, but we could always come back.” He smiles at her. The orchard stretches out as far as the eye can see as they turn around on part of the cracked concrete driveway that is set back, but parallel to the road. Trees stretch towards the light yellow, pink and blue of the sky as if praying that they will be less barren soon and the sun will bless them. It looks as if it might be a calm day ahead. Behind them is the main building, which is in more of an American style with a porch out the front and only one floor to it. To the side of that and a few feet adjacent are a couple of converted barns that have two layers to them. “Driver Kim will now join the other staff”- Jumin points to the barns. The driver nods, but when MC looks worried about him Jumin adds, “He will be most comfortable in there Princess. _Why,_ it is almost as cosy as the main home. There are heating and shower facilities and always an abundance of spare clothes just in case a situation like this should crop up.” 

“I don’t want to put anyone out,” MC almost pouts now and Jumin finds it incredibly cute. 

“Worry about yourself,” he urges her firmly. “Elizabeth the 3rd is already waiting for us in the main house. Come.”

“Thank you Driver Kim,” MC still hesitates so that she can say such a thing. He looks touched by the gesture, though not terribly surprised that it had come from her. 

“You are most welcome MC, but please do as the young sir says and get yourself warmed up in the house. I would not want you to catch a cold.” Jumin instantly looks worried at the prospect and the driver and he nod at one another, before the driver walks away. 

“I hope you will be most happy here Princess.” 

“I feel better already,” she murmurs. 

“That is a good sign. Come.” He chivvies her into the house. Elizabeth the 3rd wastes no time in coming to greet them and in winding herself in between MC’s legs. “Not now Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin scolds the cat gently, “MC is tired.”

“I slept in the car,” she reminds him. 

“You need proper rest and so do _I,”_ he smiles knowingly at her now. “Why don’t you take a quick look around and use the bathroom facilities if you want to? I will make us a warm drink and then we should try to sleep for a few hours. I have informed the staff not to disturb us unless it is _clear_ that we are up and not to let _anyone_ enter the grounds without my permission. Everything is settled and we are quite safe here.” 

“A-All right.” MC suppresses a yawn. That _does_ sound like what she needs in that moment.

Jumin smiles tenderly at her and then disappears off into a room that’s on the right. It looks like a living room or some kind of reception area from her just peeking through the doorway. Perhaps it leads into the kitchen? MC decides to go off and explore everywhere else first and then hopefully work her way back around to the kitchen and Jumin again. 

The first room on the left seems to be the one that Jumin uses during his time here. A single bed is pushed up against the far wall. It has a grey blanket that is mostly neat on top of it, but that Elizabeth the 3rd has already been on going by the ruffles that she can see and the faint white cat hairs that are in between them. On the wooden bedside cabinet there is a photo of Jumin sitting on a black kitchen stool and holding Elizabeth the 3rd. She wonders if V had taken it. The carry case that Jumin had brought with him is up against the bed and her cherry pink rucksack has also been placed there. She feels an odd tingling sensation at seeing them brushed up against one another and looks away again. The doors of the old-fashioned wooden wardrobe that is in line with the entrance of the room are slightly ajar. MC cannot help but step towards it. There are spare clothes for Jumin-a mix of winter and summer gear to cover every weather eventuality and the same in place for a female. She presumes now that these are the clothes that have been brought for _her_ and runs her hand curiously down the arm of a comfortable orange jumper, before she moves on. 

A room close to the centre of the building holds a more intimate living room, complete with skylight, a warm fireplace and a soft settee, which has checked blankets draped on the top of it.

The bedroom that Chairman Han uses is at the back of the house and she only pokes her head briefly around the door of that one, before she hurriedly continues when she sees what it is, trying not to wonder if her mother had ever been to this place and slept inside that room. 

Zigzagging back down again MC discovers that a bathroom is next door to the cosy living room-functioning more than lavish-with the usual things that you’d expect to find-a bath and shower combo, sink, toilet, an oval mirror and some storage space for toiletries. She sees that there are already different types of shampoo for women there and that angle has been covered as well. 

Finally she returns to Jumin in the kitchen-a long room with counters that are beneath some windows, white appliances like a fridge and microwave, a black stove on one side and a small silver dining table that can seat around four on the other complete with matching chairs. There are also cupboards and drawers. The kettle is boiling and Jumin pours the water inside two white cups and then turns to her, whilst Elizabeth the 3rd does a figure eight around his legs. “Everything is to your satisfaction?” he asks her with a keen apprehension about his face. It is clear that his thoughts have turned more negative since she’d wandered about and she feels sorry for him. 

“Of _course_ ”-Jumin’s shoulders sag a little in relief-“This entire place is wonderful. You can’t hear the traffic noise.”

“It _is_ nice and peaceful,” he acknowledges, as he looks pleased now.

“It feels like _heaven_ compared to what we've left behind.” 

“Yes, well”-he hands her, her tea-“Perhaps we could have a few hours _without_ thinking of such things? It is too early to contemplate my father I find.” 

She feels the same about her _own_ father and closes her eyes as she sips at her tea. It is warm, milky and sweet because it has a trace of honey inside of it. Her mouth gets tangled in the luxury of it all and as she _finally_ swallows after savouring the taste she can feel her entire body relaxing and growing sleepier again. She opens her eyes to find that she has Jumin’s full attention now and that he is staring intently at her. “You _are_ all right aren't you?” she asks him. “Even though things are difficult at the moment?” she can’t help but ask such a thing because she feels nervous about what could have happened at Chairman Han’s penthouse earlier and also he seems on edge about her every little reaction. 

He grimaces now and her heart sinks. “Let us talk about it later Princess.” He grasps at her shoulder. “For now why don’t you enjoy your tea, whilst I go and sort out a few things?” He brushes past her and Elizabeth the 3rd takes his place where he’d been in front of her, staring at MC out of unblinking blue eyes. 

“I _really_ wish you could talk sometimes,” MC murmurs to the cat now, “You could tell me the things that even _he_ won’t.” Her lips brush against the rim of the hot cup. She _knows_ that Elizabeth the 3rd hadn’t been present for whatever had upset Jumin, but she must know her master so well by now that she would probably be able to have a good guess at what _had_ done. Whatever it is obviously involves Sarah, but that doesn’t exactly narrow the thing that it could be down. Sarah could have said or done _any_ amount of options. The one thing it doesn’t look to have had anything to do with at all is MC. She believes too when Jumin had said that there is nothing going on between him and Sarah and that he doesn’t appreciate those sorts of people. He is still clearly distinct from his father, but _what-?_

Jumin moves past her once more, looking back over his shoulder at them and appearing happy from what he sees. “MC and Elizabeth the 3rd, I am glad that you are catching up on all that you have missed and are getting along again. It was nice to see you both behaving in the way you did in the car earlier too.” He heaves the carry case that he’d brought with him onto one of the counters. He seems to have emptied part of it already and what is left seems to pertain to Elizabeth the 3rd. He gets out an expensive looking china bowl along with a tub of gourmet cat food and begins to prod the cat food into the bowl with a fork that he fetches from one of the drawers in the kitchen. Elizabeth the 3rd abandons MC for him and Jumin tells her off gently for leaving their guest. 

“I don’t mind.” MC goes to join them now and suddenly a glimpse of how things _could_ be in the future flashes through her mind. It is happier times. She is in a kitchen just like this one and watching as Jumin feeds Elizabeth the 3rd as she drinks the tea that he had made for her previously. They will both be heading to work shortly, but for now everything is peaceful and quiet. MC wonders if a moment like that can _even_ happen. She doesn’t know whether Jumin feels the same as her after all and still feels adamant that he cannot do so. She savours it though. 

“You are very lucky Elizabeth the 3rd that MC is so understanding,” Jumin tells his cat reprovingly. A hint of his tongue visible he glances across at MC, expecting to see her looking amused by the interaction between himself and Elizabeth the 3rd now, but to his slight disappointment he sees an expression that he cannot decipher on her face and it brings him back to earth with a jolt. “The tea has made you flushed,” he notices and sees fit to tell her, though she is not sure if it is _that._ “I am worried that you might be getting a cold since you are still in the same clothes that you have been wearing all night. You saw the clothes that have been put in the wardrobe in my room for you?” 

She nods. “Though you shouldn't have gone to such effort for me.”

“My father taught me that women should _only_ have clothes that are fit for a princess…” Jumin remembers what type of man his father is when it comes to women and _how,_ in actual fact, the things that he has been brought up to believe in might _not_ suit MC nor him. “Did I do something wrong?” He is worried as he attempts to check with her. “Is it not right for me to have taken the initiative with your clothes?”

“It’s just-I'm not sure if I _want_ that type of expense spent on me. You should save it for someone who deserves it.” 

“As far as I can tell there is _no_ one who deserves it more.” He cocks his head at her.

She shakes her head a little, knowing that it might take time for him to realize that he doesn’t have to spend his money on her to maintain her presence in his life _or_ to make her feel comfortable. “I would not have left this place or you even if I had to stay in these clothes the entire time.” She plucks now at her school uniform.

“Well, you do not.” Jumin looks as if he does not know how to handle her. “There are pyjamas in the winter section of the wardrobe. Put them on and please join me in the living room that has the skylight. You saw such a thing?” Again she nods and decides to give him an easier time about it all. “I will be waiting for you there.”

She drains the rest of her tea and does as he’s instructed her to, finding soft grey pyjamas that are like silk to her skin and putting them on, before she makes her way back, a little self-consciously, to the appropriate living room. Her arms are folded over her chest and her are feet bare. The wooden floor between both rooms is thankfully clean, however, and so she does not feel any material or dust sticking to her feet. The place must be cleaned even when the Han’s are not there, she thinks, or perhaps some poor soul had been forced to clean it hurriedly that night. She swallows now, knowing that though both options could be true, which one is most likely to be correct and once more she feels a little embarrassed about the care that has been shown towards her. 

When she enters the living room it is to find that it is ablaze in a warm glow and that Jumin is tending to the fire. His back is turned to her. Elizabeth the 3rd is supervising his actions. The settee has been extended into a bed and there are now pillows at the head of it, whilst the checked blankets look warm and inviting in the light. 

Jumin finishes poking the fire into its best life, drags the latticed fire grate with a bit of a squeak back across it-she presumes that such a thing is there to protect Elizabeth the 3rd and wonders if he’d had to use his own money to buy it or if it was something that Chairman Han had been agreeable to considering the likelihood that at some stage he may have dated a woman with young children or _thought_ that he might-and turns to her as he straightens up. A flush flares to her face like one of the fire’s flames as he looks at her. He seems initially like he may have bumped his head on something invisible upon seeing her, before his face looks warm and inviting in the light. His eyes flick down and then quickly up at her again and he clears his throat abruptly. “I am glad that they seem to fit you well.” 

_“Yes,”_ she plucks at her pyjama top absentmindedly and Jumin looks alarmed. 

“Please do not risk popping the buttons Princess. We do not want to risk another one not fitting you so well.” He looks away from her, turning red. 

_“No,”_ she blushes, “And thank you they’re fine. Thanks for being so considerate of me.” She tangles a hand in her hair, before she remembers that the outline of her chest will be more exposed to him that way and goes back to folding her arms once more. Jumin’s face looks warmer still when he eventually looks back at her and she feels all the more awkward. 

_“Meow.”_ Elizabeth the 3rd begins to pad over to MC and seems intent on rubbing her face on the bottom of MC’s pyjama legs. 

“Elizabeth the 3rd it is good that you are being so friendly, but you cannot do that now.” Jumin scoops the naughty cat up. “Why don’t you leave such a greeting for another time, _hm?”_ The cat stares at him with a rather grumpy expression-Seven would probably say that she’s turned into Cross Cat in that moment-and looks unhappy with her owner. “You should get beneath the blankets MC,” he nods, turning his attention to her now, “Before she can get to you again.”

“Oh, right.” MC pulls the blankets aside and gets in hurriedly, before she pulls them up to her chin. Jumin puts the cat down again and with a small frown upon his face tucks the blankets so that they form more of a cocoon around MC. As she’s sitting up his face becomes astonishingly close to her own as he progresses. He jerks back a little when he realizes such a thing and has never felt so caught off guard in all his life. “What about you?” she asks him in order to not only cover the moment, but because she’s curious. Her heart thumps madly. 

“I will join you shortly if that is all right?” he asks her. “I would not usually _want_ to intrude on a lady, _especially_ when she is getting ready to sleep, but I would feel _much_ more comfortable if we were together after everything that has happened and whilst you are still getting used to this place. I would not want you to feel _frightened_ if you should wake up before me.” She nods, but feels her heart skip a beat. He glances off to the side of her. She cups at his cheek, wanting him to know how much she values their friendship and wanting to get the message through to him again that he is not about to lose her. She feels glad that he cares about the possibility _that_ much. His eyes slide back to hers and he covers up her hand briefly with his. She chews at her lip. “Are you sure that is all right?” he checks, misreading her gesture for something else. 

“Of course it is,” she reassures him. 

Even though his back is turned to its primary source light seems to filter through his eyes at her words. “You are always so kind to me,” he admits, “Even when I am not sure that I deserve it.” 

“I can’t think of _anyone_ who deserves it more,” she paraphrases his words to her earlier. 

He pulls her to him suddenly, vaguely able to feel the shape of her through the blanket. She lets out a breath at the abrupt action and it tickles at his ear, causing him to pull back from her. He swipes a strand of hair away from her face and studies her. “Elizabeth the 3rd, look after MC in my absence,” he instructs the cat and just like that he is gone. 

MC looks after him for a moment, as does the cat and then Elizabeth the 3rd, as if remembering what her master has just told her, jumps up neatly, curls into a ball beside her and shuts her eyes. Trying not to worry too much about what might have happened at his father’s penthouse and also listen out for Jumin’s return, MC attempts to doze as well. 

*

In the other living room, which they also use as a reception room for their guests just as MC had predicted, Jumin is sitting down on the colder leather settee with his back to the window and ringing V. He sees that he has _many_ notifications of messages on his phone-most of them look to be from Zen-but chooses to focus more fully on ringing his friend first. 

“Oh Jumin, thank God that you have rung,” is the turquoise haired teen’s instant reaction as he picks up the call within moments, “Have you seen the news? Did you get my messages? Ah, but no, the most important thing is: are you all right? Is _MC-?”_

Jumin becomes instantly defensive and on guard at the mention of MC. “What about her? How do you know that she is with me?” 

“You have not seen the news?” V lets out a long and disappointed sigh. “I thought that you might have become more aware of it by now?”

_“What_ news?” Jumin questions him in a prickly fashion. Nothing is telling him that it will be _good_ news. 

_“Haa…”_ V seems to be struggling for a moment and Jumin becomes alarmed. He does not know that his friend has a headache because of everything that’s going on. “How do I put this?” he wonders. 

“V, are you all right? Is _Rika-?”_ Jumin can’t help but check. 

“She is agitated about the situation, but fine Jumin. In any case there are _bigger_ things that you need to be concerning yourself with. The media are reporting that you have run away with MC.” Jumin swears beneath his breath at that point. It is just their luck that they couldn't even have a _few_ hours off. “Someone in the lobby of the building of your father’s penthouse gave them the CCTV footage of you dragging MC into a car and now it is everywhere,” V explains, “The media noticed that MC looked upset and are speculating of course about _why_ she might have been so.” 

_“God…”_ Jumin pinches at his forehead. 

_“Mm._ But that is not _all”-_

“How can there be _more?”_

“Your father and his security visited MC’s family. _Apparently,_ after a search of your penthouse proved fruitless it was _there_ that he thought you both might have gone. I think the term, ‘slumming it,’ has been bandied around and ‘living with the commoners.’” Jumin groans. 

“He is not aware of how bad relations are between MC and her family. They will be worse for sure now that they _know_ she has gone off with me… _God,_ what a mess,” Jumin does some explaining himself. 

“You are somewhere safe?” 

“Yes.” 

_“Good,”_ V breathes a sigh of relief-he’d been _so_ worried about his friend in the past few hours and of _course_ he’d had some concern for MC too even though he does not know her as well. “I will not ask _where_ you are just in case the media should harass me because I know you. That way I won’t even be able to let anything slip,” he sounds moderately satisfied with the situation, before he adds more uncertainly, “I hope that the pair of you can come out of this unscathed and it might be a wise idea to _not_ tell the other members of the RFA about where you are in order to try and secure such a thing.” 

“The media will find out soon enough I'm sure, but thank you. What are the other members of the RFA saying?” 

“Zen in particular is furious”-

_“Yes,_ I believe he sent me a few messages,” Jumin remarks dryly. 

“Jaehee is most concerned. I believe they have tried sending messages to MC too. That is why I _believed_ that one of you would have picked them up by now.”

“She must have her phone switched off. A girl said some things to her earlier and that is why she was upset.” 

There is a bit of a pause for a moment. “And _you_ Jumin? Running away is not like you. Why did you do it in the first place?” V sounds concerned.

Jumin hesitates for a moment. His free hand runs along the creases of the arm of the settee uncertainly. Daylight floods into the room from behind him. His body clock is upside down, his mind suffering from getting even _less_ sleep than is normal for him and from everything that has occurred. He thinks of Sarah and his father’s proposition. He thinks of MC and what Driver Kim had told him. Thinks of his _own_ belief that because he is here with MC he should be feeling happy, but it is overshadowed by everything else. He suddenly feels angry for the fact. “How would you feel if I told you that my father has done the worst thing yet?” he can say this to V. V _knows_ what his father can be like, but he knows that Jumin is still able to love him. 

There is a small hesitation. No doubt V wishes that Jumin could just _explain_ to him what is going on, so that he could try and help, but he is used to his friend being cryptic. “I would feel sad because of the thing and like you deserve better Jumin. May I ask what it _is_ that he’s done?”

“He has started to interfere in my personal life.” Jumin gets up off the settee now and begins to pace a little. “It is not enough that I prepare for the business underneath his tutelage. Apparently he _now_ thinks that he has the right to pick a wife for me.” V lets out a little breath at that. Jumin had kept his voice low-presumably so that MC wouldn’t be able to hear him-but the venom in his tone had been clear all the same and he senses that his relationship has shifted into a more negative phase with his father. “Has _your_ father ever done such a thing?” Jumin tries to thread them together now and make sense of it all. 

_“No,”_ V admits now, “He seems happy enough as long as I become a businessman and understand that hobbies are _only_ good if they are profitable ones.” V is not keen to talk about his relationship with his father any more than Jumin is. _“Who,_ if you don’t mind me asking, does your father intend for you to marry?” 

_“Sarah,”_ Jumin spits her name out, “I do not know if you are aware of her, but she goes to the same school as we do and _she_ is the one who was nasty to MC earlier.”

“She is one of the members of your fan club?” V tries to clarify with a sigh. 

_“Exactly,”_ Jumin approves of how fast V is catching on to all of this, “Unfortunately she has Glam Choi as her mentor and Glam Choi”-

“Is your father’s current girlfriend?”

_“Yes,”_ Jumin groans now. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Glam Choi has influenced Father. I wouldn’t _even_ be surprised if Glam Choi and Sarah are working on this together somehow. There seemed like there was some sort of mutual understanding between them. It was all very strange. I don’t have _proof_ of it of course…it is just a feeling and I know that feelings are not useful as evidence.”

“You believe that they are after money?”

“Yes, they can get more I suppose from targeting Father and I rather than just one of us. It is actually _quite_ an efficient plan when you think about it, though utterly disgusting. I only wish that Father wasn’t falling for it. He seemed _so_ insistent about it earlier. I couldn't even reason with him. _That’s_ why I had to get myself out of there.”

“And you chose to bring MC along with you for the reason _that-?”_

“I don’t know,” Jumin confesses to him, “I wasn’t really thinking about it properly. All I know was that as soon as I saw her so upset and _visibly_ showing the emotion that I felt on the inside of me I couldn't leave her there in that state and I feel as if…I would like to get to know her some more too.”

_“Mm.”_ V considers. “She seems important to you,” he muses, “I don’t _ever_ recall you behaving in such a way to any of your father’s old girlfriend’s children…to _anyone_ in fact.” 

“I suppose that’s true.” Jumin sits down now and feels uncomfortable about it all. His stomach is sloshing with something and he sweeps a hand back through his hair. “Glam said that the reason I don’t want to marry is because I _already_ have my eye on someone else.” He takes a bit of a deep breath. “She _knew_ about my contact with MC from Sarah and seemed to think that”-

“Do you?” V asks, before he elaborates, “Feel like that for MC? I wouldn’t have placed you as the dating type, let _alone_ the marrying one before, but _now-?”_ he says. 

Jumin shifts from side to side. “I do not really know the answer to that myself,” he admits, “I would like to be able to work that out of course”-

“Through getting to know her more?” V guesses.

_“Yes,_ in a place like here where we are less likely to be disturbed, even though _that_ now looks unlikely. I do know that MC has caught my attention. I want to protect her and keep her safe. It hurts me when she is unhappy. I do not know if that makes it this thing you call, _‘love?’_ Maybe you can help me? Is that what you feel for Rika?” He hears V’s breathing grow heavier down the line now. “But of course I should not be troubling you with any of this,” Jumin says, “You have enough to be dealing with”-

“I would go to the ends of the earth for her,” V interjects passionately, “The love I have for Rika…she is my sun and I am hers. We rely on one another. I feel like she is the _only_ person in the world who could hurt me many times over and I would still love everything about her.” Jumin thinks that such love sounds quite steep to him. If MC caused him such pain like the one that V is talking about then he thinks that he might hurt _too_ much to be able to feel love any more. “If it is anything like that between MC and you,” V goes on, “Then perhaps it is _really_ love that you feel for her?” 

Jumin thinks about the thing for a moment. He wouldn’t perhaps use the same flowery language to describe it like V has just done and up until he’d started to get closer to MC he would have probably thought that the closest thing that looked like the sun was Elizabeth the 3rd’s fur, but there _is_ a brightness about MC too, he concedes, and MC and he are a team. Even when they hadn’t been able to speak to one another they had suffered through a shared experience that only _they_ had been able to understand and which had led to him feeling bound to her in ways that he hadn’t done with anyone else. _Maybe,_ in a way, it is like what Rika and V are going through at the moment with Rika’s mental health issues as V is the only one to see her all the time and to know all the ins and outs of such a thing. He wonders about the couple for a moment. “I think I better go now.” He wants to get lost in thought about everything and reach some sort of conclusion. 

“All right…but I think you need to hear this first.”

“What is it?” Jumin’s heart drops at the prospect of _more_ bad news.

“I have just refreshed the news page on my laptop. I have been checking it as we have spoken.”

_“Yes?”_ Jumin is apprehensive. 

“You are not going to be happy about it. The media have been trying to find out _more_ about MC, so they can work out what angle to play-the star-crossed lovers one for instance”-

_“Star-crossed?”_ Jumin wonders what that is about and momentarily gets distracted. 

“It is not important,” V goes on hurriedly, knowing what Jumin can be like once he gets preoccupied, “The point is that they have found the photo of her on the back of Zen’s motorbike and are now making her out to be”-

“Some kind of gold digger?” Jumin can _guess_ what kind of things are being said about MC by the wicked media and it makes his blood boil. “I do _have_ to go now V,” he tries to control his temper and not let either his voice _or_ the phone in his hand shake, “Although MC doesn’t know about this yet I fear that her mind will sense there is something amiss and she’ll soon wake up or have trouble sleeping because of the thing.” The fact that he _needs_ to check on her is perhaps closer to the truth though. He feels this fear of her being taken from him all the while. 

“Very well. Send my best to MC and try to stay in touch, won’t you? I, and the other members of the RFA will be working to help you in any way that we can and will vouch for you both if it comes to the thing. There is nothing stronger than the truth after all”- 

“You have _enough_ on your plate,” Jumin is embarrassed. 

“Even so”-

“Thank you and goodbye V.”

_“Goodnight_ Jumin.” 

Jumin clicks off the call and stares at the phone for a moment, thinking about everything that has just been said and _wishing_ that he knew what to do for the best. Thinking that he would like to be close to MC he returns to the living room. The sight that he is met with makes him cease walking and his heart immediately melt. MC is on her side and turned towards him, her h/c hair splayed across the pillow. Her eyes are softly shut and her breathing is even. She has one arm lifted up towards her face and the other is curled around Elizabeth the 3rd, who has moved to be in a ball in front of her. It looks as if she is protecting her and it is the most beautiful sight that he has ever seen in all his life. He takes a blurry photograph of it with his phone; whilst his heart pounds in a panic that they will either wake or change position. He moves around to sit on the other side of the settee bed. The firelight shines on MC’s face making her _both_ look warmer and healthier than she probably is on that night. He strokes at her hair softly. “I don’t think _either_ of us know what the sun is. Unlike V and Rika we haven’t had much time to experience it together. We know the rain and perhaps what it is to be one another’s umbrella, or to _want_ to be anyway, and I'm sorry to tell you but there is a storm outside our door MC. I'm not sure what I can do this time to protect either one of us from it. I hope we can get through it together, but you’re going to have to trust me for a little while I think. Just know that I will do _anything_ that I can for you and that even if this storm floods around our feet and destroys all of our worldly possessions I won’t stop persisting on this path of protecting you.” He pecks her on the back of the head, gets up and marches back to the reception room where he will hopefully be able to come up with some sort of plan.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. It is much appreciated. :) Hope you enjoy this. :)

When MC wakes it is drawing close to ten o’ clock that following morning, the fire has fizzled out into nothing more than a pile of ashes and Elizabeth the 3rd is no longer by her side. 

_Despite_ having the uncomfortable weight of the situation with her family inside of her, not to mention the _knowledge_ that something has happened with Jumin and that whatever it is both things will _surely_ have to begin to be resolved by them that day, she feels better that she is with Jumin and that she is going through all of whatever this turns out to be with _him._ She feels _glad_ that her feet had led her to Chairman Han’s apartment the previous night. Glad that she hadn’t _shrunken_ from the fact or turned around and fled when Jumin had spotted her and _relieved_ that he’d had the decency to take her with him. 

Wriggling out from beneath the blankets and feeling a little cold she hesitates for a moment, before she pads her way to Jumin’s room in order to change her clothes. Once she’s done so-now wearing a light grey jumper, which reminds her of Jumin and a cotton white t-shirt and jeans she has a thought and fishes out her phone. She _knows_ that she’ll probably have some messages from her father and brother and though she’s wary of them _souring_ the day ahead, and doing so, so soon in fact, she’d rather keep track of what is going on just in case it might help Jumin and her in the future or give them some forewarning of some kind. 

Turning on her phone, however, she is flooded with messages-far more than there can possibly be from her father and brother alone. Frowning, she begins to go through them in no particular order. 

**How dare you run off with that boy! You think that you are being clever by showing that you have somewhere else to go? By acting like you don’t need your family any more just like your mother did? Well you are not. You should end this nonsense now and come home immediately. If you do not then I cannot say what the consequences will be for you.** That had come from her father not long after she’d found Jumin. 

**You are in so much trouble! Do you know what they have done now? That boy’s father and his goons came to our apartment and did a thorough search for the boy that you have gone off with. They didn't believe it when we said that we would never hide him.** MC gulps at the message from her brother, which had been sent shortly after the one from her father.

There are a few mixed messages from Jaehee. One had been sent at the tail end of her time with Zen, which seems like another lifetime ago now: _I am worried by the way that you seem to be putting Zen’s career at risk MC without realizing that you are doing such a thing. The photo of you on the back of Zen’s motorbike is already surfacing on social media accounts of the people that we go to school with. I really think it would be best if you do not start a relationship with Zen. I thought you liked Jumin?_ Over time though her messages had become more concerned: _I know that you’ve run off with Jumin. Can you please get in touch with me MC? I'm worried about what might be going on._ Angry: _Are you avoiding getting in touch with me because of the lecture I gave you about Zen earlier? I have known Zen for longer than you have MC and I was only being honest to try and save you doing something like that again. Things like that can really affect an actor’s career, especially one like Zen’s, which is just beginning to take off and which you will be hindering the flight of if you stain his reputation so soon._ Concerned again: _The photo of Zen and you is now everywhere. The media are painting you out to be some sort of scarlet woman. Not even a love triangle between Zen, Jumin and you, which I was fearful of. I worry about what this is doing to the RFA. I need you to contact me._

She’d had some panicked texts that would have been funny from Zen if things hadn’t seemed so dire: **I need to know that you are okay. I know that you like Jumin, but it looked like he took you against your will. Send word somehow and I will rescue you..** Finally: **Aaargh! Jumin Han that jerk! I can’t sleep. I hope that you are okay. All my thoughts are filled with you. Please tell me where you are babe.**

Yoosung had sent her one that had said: **I'm getting scared. Everything all seems to be going wrong for the RFA. At this rate we won’t even be able to hold the party any more. I wasn’t planning on getting any sleep-oh! You don’t know do you? When I got home yesterday I found a new game had been downloaded onto my PC. Everyone else seems to think that it’s a virus, but I don’t care even if it is. It’s really fun. I haven’t gotten used to the controls yet, so I keep losing and pressing everything really hard. It made my mind forget about Rika for a while, but I still want to think about what you said. I just want to delay it.** MC sighs, it seems like Yoosung has _still_ got a way to go, but she is happy in one sense if he has found something better to focus on than putting pressure on V all the time and trying to interfere with Rika. It might give them _all_ more breathing space. **Anyway, what was I saying now? So, yes, I had a break and I went into the RFA chatroom-you should really come and talk to us on there-and saw everything that was going on. I don’t mind staying up. That was my point. I think I would be even if I hadn’t discovered LOLOL-that’s the game-because my mind is so full of worry, but I hope that either Jumin and you will get in touch with us soon and that the both of you will be pkay.** A moment later he’d sent: **Okay! I meant ‘okay!’ Playing LOLOL!**

The most recent message had come from Jaehee once more. This time she hadn’t sent her a single word, but a photo had been attached. When MC looks at it now it completes the spreading of tangled weeds in her mind. It shows the front-page headline of the newspaper that is most prominent in the area and claims that Jumin is engaged to Sarah. _“What?”_ MC whispers to herself upon seeing it. A large photo of Chairman Han making the announcement dominates the page and sits alongside the headline, whilst a smaller one of Sarah is also included. The introduction of the article, which continues on pages that Jaehee has not included in the attachment, seems to suggest that there can be nothing between Jumin and MC because Jumin is _already_ engaged. The article re-caps the fact that Jumin and MC had been thought to be running away together the previous night. Chairman Han makes out that Jumin is merely having a bit of fun, before he will be settling down. They make her sound like the whore her father had called her the previous night. Her head spins and she feels a little dizzy and sick. 

_“Meow.”_ MC jumps and finds that Elizabeth the 3rd has approached her-attracted by the sound of her fingers on her phone perhaps-and is now staring at her from the entrance of the room. 

Jumin appears just a moment later. “Oh MC.” He notices that she is fully dressed. _“Good,_ you are up. I thought you might be. Elizabeth the 3rd was worried I think when you did not come and instantly say good morning to her.” She senses that it hadn’t been _Elizabeth the 3rd_ who had been worried. 

“What is this?” she shows the newspaper headline to Jumin.

Frowning and squinting a little at it he takes the phone from her. Elizabeth the 3rd moves to weave in between MC’s legs, but for once MC doesn’t pay any attention to the cat. All she can focus on is the way that the shade of Jumin’s face lightens in realization, before it seems to crystallize and harden before her into something stronger and less penetrable. “That’s what my father wants.” He meets her eyes. Her lips move uncertainly. “It is not what I do.” He passes her back the phone roughly. V had sent him a fuller copy of the article not too long ago-Jumin had taken to waiting for V’s updates, so that he could have a narrower focus rather than in getting bogged down in all the words that are surely flying around the Internet himself-and Jumin feels saddened that MC has now seen such a thing. He’d wanted to protect her from it and maybe try and gather the courage to tell her about it himself. He had _not_ wanted her to find out when he hadn’t even been able to be present in the room. 

She studies him for a moment and then it suddenly hits her. _“That_ was what happened last night. What you all talked about at dinner.” 

_“Yes.”_ Jumin adjusts his cuffs now and it occurs to MC that he’s still wearing the same clothes that she’d last seen him in. 

“Have you slept at _all?”_ she asks him.

_“Slept?”_ he considers such a thing for a moment and looks surprised by the question. “No, I suppose I haven’t,” he indulges her by answering, “I have been doing some cross-stitch in order to try and ease my mind.”

“Can I see?” she’s hesitant now, but curious too and thinks that a moment’s distraction might be good, whilst she digests all of what has happened. 

_“Mm.”_ Once more he looks confused by her behaviour, but strides off diligently to fetch his latest work. Elizabeth the 3rd and MC have only made it out of his bedroom after MC had thrown her phone down on his bed by the time that he returns and the three of them find themselves close to the front door. He holds the piece, which is slowly forming the face of a brown and white cat up for her to see. She touches at the top of the cat’s head. Its blue eyes, which are reminiscent of Elizabeth the 3rd’s are completed and they seem to stare at her encouragingly. Jumin’s stitching is precise, all of the colours are where they should be and not a single one of them is over-spilling into an area where they shouldn't. “You are aware that I do not want this marriage?” She looks into his grey eyes that are shining a little with light from the gaps that are in the doorway and once more believes him. “That I do not have time for people like that? The rest of the world can think what it likes, but I couldn't _bear_ it if you joined them Princess and believed the same.”

“I know you’re being honest with me,” she murmurs and Jumin looks at once relieved. This is the boy who has done _more_ for her than any other after all and she wants to trust him now that he is asking for that same kind of support. She doesn’t _want_ the thread that runs between them and through the weeds of her mind to break. She wouldn’t be able to handle that. 

_“Good,”_ Jumin sighs more happily, “That being said however,” he lowers his cross-stitch material as she draws her finger away from it, “I do not like the fact that you are witnessing this situation, _nor_ how you are being treated inside of it”-there is also backlash against the idea of Sarah being his fiancée of course, but MC is his princess and he _hates_ the cross words that are being said against her-“V has been keeping me updated and I assume that you are now aware of what they have been saying about because you went off with Zen?” 

“Jaehee mentioned it.” That is putting it lightly, she knows, but she doesn’t want to tell him about the anger that had also come from her friend. He has _enough_ on his plate. Her mind feels stretched too and as if _she_ needs to find a clear path through the weeds, which are rapidly becoming bushes in her mind and focus on what is important. Hopefully she will be able to repair things with Jaehee later at some point, but she knows that it’s probably not something that can be done by text or right in that moment. For now-she ducks her head down, touches at her hair and then meets Jumin’s eyes. “I think that you should try and control the anger that you have towards the media and act more like you do when it is only _you_ who is involved in their smears,” she tells him. 

“Princess, are you aware of what”-

“They’re calling me a _whore,_ which is exactly what my father called me last night and what _you_ allowed yourself to think for a moment when I went off with Zen.”

“I would not put it so strongly as that, _but…”_ he trails off now and has the decency to look abashed. He feels bad that he had forgotten that there was _more_ to her being upset than just Sarah’s words and for the fact that her father’s _own_ were why she hadn’t wanted to go home. He quickly tries to mend things with her, “In any case, before that I was trying to _save_ your effort Princess. That is _all_ I was trying to do. The thing you came up with about me being scared was not true at all.” She looks at him sceptically. “He would not have seen the light about me,” he goes on ardently. “Going on his motorbike-Do you have _any_ idea how guilty I would have felt if something bad had happened when you’d gone to talk to him and I _hadn’t_ managed to stop you?”- 

“But at that point,” she murmurs, “You thought that I might be like all the rest, didn't you?” 

“All right, yes.” He looks ashamed of himself now. “I doubted you for a moment I admit- since you clearly want me to say such a thing.” 

As he looks bitter she closes her palm around the fist that he has made around the cross-stitch material. He flinches for a moment, before he settles into her touch. “It matters to me _more_ that the pair of you could think such a thing than the rest of the world. _That’s_ why I wanted you to say it because I hoped that such a thought would never cross your mind.”

“But you doubted me _now_ when you first saw the headline didn't you?” Jumin murmurs, as if to say they are even. 

_“Yes,”_ she sighs, “I'm sorry. I did wonder about it for a moment. I felt more confused about it than anything else. I'm willing to try and do better. We _have_ to do what’s right, but we need to trust one another…I-I don’t want things to go back to how they were before Jumin-us not talking to one another. Even though you’re going to college soon I _would_ like us to leave things on good terms.” 

“So there will be no more talk about us giving up on our friendship before then?” She shakes her head. “In that case then I would like such a thing too.” Jumin’s expression softens, before he looks sorrowful. “I am sorry that your father called you what he did and sorry for the role that I have played in doubting you.”

“He resents my mother for leaving him and expects others to do the same. I know, no matter what you might say,” she says in a challenging tone, “That is something _you’re_ scared of too.” Jumin looks a little ashamed. “But you’re not alike in any other way.”

Jumin feels relieved by that. He can’t _ever_ imagine telling his child what her father had told her. “I'm sorry MC.” 

She brushes his apology aside. “I think we can _both_ see however that it’s so easy for people to be swayed. You cannot _expect_ people who don’t know me-who don’t even know _you_ really-to see anything else, that is why you must try and not be too angry with them and not go to war on my behalf. I am not worth it”-

“You underestimate your own value, Princess,” he tells her silkily.

“I want us to handle this in the best way,” she goes on briskly, ignoring the way that he had just spoken because it makes her feel uncomfortable, “I am also just trying to look at the bigger picture. I don’t think it would be a good idea for the heir of C & R to have a go at the media. It will only cause _more_ problems for you. At the end of the day you need them and they need you. The business will be in jeopardy without them. You might have money, but you can’t _afford_ to fight them at every turn. At the very least I don’t want your relationship with your father to get worse.” Jumin takes a step forward now and places his free hand upon her arm. He does not feel as if he deserves such passion coming from her, but is glad for the thing and that she is being so logical and strong, channelling things in a rational way _unlike_ when she’d questioned whether they should be friends in school the day before. If she continued to do such things then she might have a successful career in business one day and Jumin’s mind goes to the conclusion his mind had decided upon, whilst she’d been sleeping. “We need to work out where we go from here,” she tells him in that moment”-

“That is what I was about to get on to,” Jumin steps back to murmur and she looks slightly apprehensive of the fact. “It would not be _usual_ for my father to respond to false rumour”- 

“And the way he said what he did about you enjoying yourself?” MC adds. “Won’t that make shares plummet and trust be lost in the company?”

“It irks me more because of what it implies about _you,_ Princess, but I believe, in this case, that he was persuaded to take the risk of what you have described happening due to Glam Choi and possibly Sarah as well. I think the two of them are working together and this way they _must_ be aware of the fact that they are trapping me.” She looks at him worriedly. “By announcing what they want me to do with Sarah and making it look as if it has already happened they are putting me in a position of embarrassment if I say that, that is not the case after all. It makes me look as if I am going back on the agreement and disappointing them all. It puts my inheritance of the business into question too unless I go along with the thing because it makes me look untrustworthy and as if I might back out of future deals with our partners. As if I am being particularly fussy. Everyone would be wary about going into business with me. It also threatens the share of the business because, like you have already pointed out, it does not make me look like an upstanding citizen if I am _supposedly_ already treating my relationship with my future wife so light-heartedly. My father expects, like they all do, that because I have never wanted any harm to come to the business _or_ to his reputation that I will return home and do what they want me to. That is _why_ -because of a swift resolution-he also feels that he can take the gamble on being condemned for his _own_ lax views on relationships, because he _knows_ they will not sink the business. He has been proved to be a steady pair of hands in spite of them. _I,_ however, am untested. Nothing I do will make things look particularly good for me, but in spite of all that I have made a decision”- 

“But not at the expense of the business? You _have_ thought about that?” MC interrupts him. 

He chuckles lowly. “Princess I have been thinking about the business my _entire_ life. Of _course_ I have taken it into consideration,” he adds quickly when she opens her mouth, “But it was high-time that I looked at all the supposedly _smaller_ things that make up the larger picture you were talking of earlier and that is what I have done, whilst we were apart. I have decided that I would rather give up my inheritance than do what is wrong and hurt those who I care about”- 

“But you _care_ about your father,” she tries to remind him, her breath feeling all clogged up because of his close proximity and she forces herself to step back from him for a moment. She’d _thought_ that he was being sensible or at the very least that he was considering things carefully. He cannot _seriously_ be considering giving up his inheritance for her? 

“You’ve got that look on your face again. I do not like it,” Jumin is able to see that she is considering persuading him that he is wrong. “Of _course_ I care about my father, _but”-_ he glances away from her and she can see how much this situation is hurting him-“He has to share some responsibility for it all. His voice has gotten lost due to Glam Choi and I will _not_ suffer the same fate or start going down that same path myself. Do you know that the paper probably had to alter its headline at that late time and the reason I believe they did so was because of the money my father paid them? Glam Choi and Sarah _might_ have been whispering things to him, but _he_ made it happen MC.” He feels nauseous by the thought. “I am fed up of my family using money in such a way,” he gets out to her in a pained tone. “We covered up the truth of your mother’s death. _I_ used it so that I could feel better about the gap where we weren’t talking…There is nothing more important than the truth,” he paraphrases V, “And Father is trying to hide it now and put the business first again.” 

“But you’ve said yourself that nothing about this is easy and that _whatever_ you do”- she’s anxious. 

“There will be other businesses,” he smiles at her, whilst she is still gaping in shock at his decision and how adamant he seems about it despite the fact that it can’t be more than hours since he has come up with the thing. “I do not need to stay with my father to be a successful businessman, like you know I have many ideas that I wish to do,” she knows that he’s referring to the cat projects and he grins again, seemingly happy about something. 

She tries to ignore his handsome expression and point out, “It would be easier for you to stay with him and the company though wouldn’t it?” 

“Are you trying to put me off the thing?”

“I'm just _trying_ to do what is right for _you,_ Jumin. I know you love your father”- she doesn’t want Chairman Han and Jumin to lose their relationship.

“I _do,”_ he acknowledges with a bow of his head, “And he will _never_ stop being my father, but I feel as if his womanising has finally come between us and until things change and he comes back to his senses then I _refuse_ to put up with the thing. There are _other_ people who are important to me and I will _not_ have him damage my relationships with them. If you have any doubt then I mean people like _you Princess,”_ he tells her in a gentler tone. 

“But he is your father and I am just”-

“You are just _what?_ Can’t you see what I'm _trying_ to do here Princess? What I'm _trying_ to tell you? Maybe I am doing it in too clumsy a way, but this might help you see what _else_ I have realized in the time that we have been apart”- He pulls her flush to him.

_“Jumin!”_ she scolds him crossly now, whilst her face heats up. “Have you even _thought_ about this properly?” 

“I have thought of precious else.” He begins to lower his face down towards hers and just like that she freezes and the thought that had once threatened to be coherent fades into a whimper in her mind. There is only his eyes getting steadily closer to her own, looking stormy with something that for a moment even _she_ can believe is desire and then them beginning to close to reveal his eyelashes more fully to her. His hand moves around her so that his palm can lie flat on her back. His breath hovers against hers and as her heart pounds she begins to shut her _own_ eyes and finally just succumb to the moment. The space gets less and less between them until-

Jumin’s phone goes off and he withdraws from her with a bit of a grumble, before they can even kiss. He half-glances at the device with a furrowed brow and a spark of something like realization manages to form in his eyes. A loud and frantic knock upon the door comes. 

“Who can this be? Stay behind me Princess and keep an eye on Elizabeth the 3rd for me.” MC nods, a little dazed, but Elizabeth the 3rd seems to have wandered off somewhere. They exchange an embarrassed shrug at how distracted they’d gotten, before Jumin opens the door. 

A man who is barely older than they are with milky skin, the leftover blemishes of acne and floppy brown hair is standing there. He seems breathless and to have come to them in a bit of a run. Just the fact that he might have done makes the nerves increase inside of MC and she shifts instinctively closer to Jumin, though she still remains behind him. The man looks at her for a moment, before his eyes quickly ping-pong to Jumin, “Sir, your father is here”-

_“What?!”_ Jumin exclaims at the same time that MC feels her heart sink. There is _so_ much to still sort out. Not to mention what Jumin and she _are_ to one another. Had he _really_ been about to kiss her?

“The staff at the edge of the property weren’t able to stop him, sir. He insisted on coming. I'm the fastest out of all of us, sir, so I ran down to let you know, _but”-_

“You all did the right thing,” Jumin tells him and MC can see the differences that are there between his father and him once more, even if he _does_ seem regretful about the thing. She doesn’t think that his _father_ would have behaved so calmly if he’d been in Jumin’s situation, _especially_ if he is so easily influenced by others, whilst Jumin is trying to stand on his own two feet at least. The employee would have probably been sacked by Chairman Han. “Why don’t you carry on with your work now? We can handle it from here,” there is an edge to Jumin’s tone. 

“Yes sir.” The man bows his head jerkily at him and takes a couple of steps away. He begins to turn around, so that he can go down the steps of the porch, before he seems to think of something and look back. “Ma’am.” He nods at MC who blushes at the title. He does so in turn and Jumin frowns darkly. 

“That will be all,” he warns the man. 

“Yes sir.” He scurries off. 

Jumin and MC exchange a bit of a glance with one another, before they step out onto the porch themselves, shutting the door to the house behind them. They hear the noise of an engine and in the next second spot a black car, which is slightly more discreet than the limo’s that Chairman Han would usually favour, careening towards them and going so fast that it churns up some of the concrete path. It creates a haze of smoke around the vehicle. 

“No matter what happens now I would have done it,” Jumin says. MC looks at him uncertainly. “Kissed you. I _need_ you to know that.” 

“I-You-Do you _really-?”_ she gestures between them and feels awkward when she cannot get her words out. 

_“Yes,”_ Jumin confirms to her with a smile, finding her all the cuter when she is tongue-tied. 

“I would have responded,” she makes an effort to say and both of their hearts leap and he grins a little boyishly, before she looks away from him. 

With a small downward curve of the lips Jumin look back to the car himself and realizes that he is now able to see the occupants that are inside of it. There is his father up front with the driver and wearing a stern expression upon his face. There are also a couple of people in the back, but Jumin cannot make their faces out. The car skids to a stop. MC makes a squeaking noise inside her throat. Jumin looks at her in alarm. When he is distracted by the sound of the car door opening, however, and looks back, he realizes that she had spotted who the others are-her father and her brother- _before_ he had. They look even _more_ menacing than he remembers from the time that he’d gone over to their apartment on the night of Chae-Yeong’s death. “Get behind me or better still go upstairs,” he urges her, pushing himself in front of her ever so slightly and feeling determined to be braver than he had been before. 

“We are in this together.” MC fights to stand alongside him now and grasps at his hand. She is scared, but she is _not_ going to run away and leave him to face it all. 

Jumin’s father stomps up the steps of the porch and looks at his son most seriously. “We will talk about all of this inside.” He does not even _look_ at MC and there is a chink of coldness in his eyes. It is hard for MC to _relate_ him back to the man who had been so kind, warm and welcoming before when ever she’d gone to his penthouse. Even _Jumin_ seems taken aback by the level of his father’s behaviour towards him and MC feels his hand twitch against hers nervously. She looks at him, but he has a rather stoical expression brewing upon his face. 

“We are coming too,” Bo-Seon is as energetic as ever in his readiness for attack, “But you can be sure of one thing MC, you _will_ be coming home with us and if you have _dared_ to touch her inappropriately then”- his gaze turns to Jumin at that point. 

“She’ll be staying with _me_ and I would _never_ harm a hair on her head,” Jumin growls now, adjusting his stance, so that _he_ is the one who is holding MC’s hand and she can see Chairman Han processing the extent of his son’s seeming devotion for her and the irritation that flies through the eyes of both her father and brother because of it. 

_“Wouldn't_ you?” Bo-Seon’s eyebrows rise in a threatening manner. 

“He means well for me Bo.” Jumin is glad that MC says such a thing. 

“Enough of all of this.” Chairman Han pushes his way in between Jumin and MC, breaking apart their hands with his towering strength _despite_ Jumin’s attempts to cling on to her and the way that the half-crescent shape of his nails digs into her skin as he does so. They look at one another fearfully. Bo-Seon makes a scoffing noise as he and Hak-Yeon follow Chairman Han inside. MC and Jumin tread inside too, their hands brushing one another’s in search of reassurance as they step through the door. 

Her father and Bo-Seon are idling in the reception room, but Chairman Han has gone to stomp around the house and to presumably try and ascertain what has been going on. 

“That cat of yours scratched me,” he says disapprovingly to Jumin upon his return to the front door where Jumin and MC are waiting for him. “You should take care of your things and get its nails clipped.” He holds up a large, pale hand-perhaps also as a threat to them-and both MC and Jumin take a small amount of pleasure in the red marks that are diagonally across the centre of the palm. 

“It is natural behaviour Father,” Jumin says daringly, before he adds now, “Maybe she does not appreciate your heavy footsteps.” MC feels proud of Jumin for saying that much, but Chairman Han gives his son a great look of displeasure. 

_“Yes,_ I can see that some _other_ supposedly _natural_ behaviour has been going on,” Chairman Han says warningly at that point, but both Jumin and MC feel puzzled by his remarks. Chairman Han lets out a breath. “You need to stop all of this son.” He moves past them and heads towards the reception room, the perfect state of disapproval. 

_“What?_ Standing up for myself and for what is right? I hope that I will _never_ stop doing such things Father. As for your earlier remark I have no idea _what_ it can mean.” 

“Don’t you?” Chairman Han looks back at his son heavily. “I hoped that I would _never_ have to be in the situation that you have put me in.” Jumin grabs hold of MC’s hand defiantly. Chairman Han looks at their linked hands in disgust and turns away. They follow him into the reception room apprehensively. 

_“Did_ he defile her?” Bo-Seon asks immediately and as both Jumin and MC look at one another they realize that no doubt Chairman Han would have seen the settee bed in the cosy living room and jumped to the wrong conclusion. 

“Unfortunately something of that nature seems to have occurred, yes.” Chairman Han bows his head. The other two men had been unrelenting in their talk of such things on the way there and it gives him _no_ pleasure to confirm it. 

Bo-Seon strides towards Jumin and MC instinctively puts herself in front of him. They all look at her in astonishment.

“Nothing happened,” she stretches her arm out protectively, “And even if it _did_ then it would have been _my_ choice”-

_“Your_ choice? Is that what you truly think sister? Or perhaps the truth is that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?”-

“That’s enough!” Hak-Yeon interjects, before his son can go any further now. “Chairman Han was _kind_ enough to bring us here _despite_ the fact that he didn’t have to.” He pulls Bo-Seon back. “You will control yourself until this is all over with! She _will_ be released! She will not come to any harm, but you must have _patience_ in the mean time!” He wags a finger at his son. 

“Jumin is not keeping me prisoner here Father! I am here out of my own free will.”

“I don’t want to hear a word from you either,” Hak-Yeon tells his daughter fiercely. There is a tense rigidity about his body and he can barely look at her. “Chairman Han, perhaps we could get on with our business now?” he appeals to the other man more desperately. 

“Cosy getaway you got here,” Bo-Seon cannot help but add sarcastically, nodding to MC and jerking his head to indicate the wooden shelving that is behind him. It is full of china plates that commemorate different events across the years and in between them, in frames on the wall, are cross-stitch pieces that have been done by Jumin no doubt. Never having been in the room before herself until that point MC is taken with them for a moment, but for a different reason than her brother who has pointed them out to make Jumin appear as less of a man. Whilst she is interested in them because they reveal _more_ of Jumin to her and of the man she loves. Some are of soothing, peaceful landscapes, but most are of different cat breeds. A Persian-the same type of cat as Elizabeth the 3rd-takes pride of place in the centre. They all look very realistic and encouraging just like the latest piece that he is working on. She wonders if the landscape ones had been done out of a compromise with his father-as if he’d been allowed to work on all the different cat breed ones if he’d done those ones. Wonders if he hadn’t been allowed to display them at his father’s main residence and had only been allowed to do so here because few people would ever bear witness to them? She feels sad about the thing for a moment and wonders why Jumin hasn’t moved them to his penthouse.

“Put that down Jumin.” Chairman Han nods irritably at the latest cross-stitch pattern, which is still clenched tightly in Jumin’s hand. Jumin moves to a cabinet that’s off to the side and puts it reverentially down there, as if to apologize for his harsher hold of it earlier. He makes it lie flat with his fingers, whilst Bo-Seon snorts mockingly. MC wishes that she could _kill_ her brother. Jumin, as he looks back around once more, sees how heated MC looks and returns to her side, taking her hand dutifully. 

“All right?” he checks with her lowly. 

She nods, the tickle of his breath that she feels upon her face reassuring her ever so slightly. The feel of his hand gently stroking at hers, like he might do with Elizabeth the 3rd, also makes her temper cool. 

“You don’t _have_ to pretend to be the good boyfriend with us. We already _know_ what you are like,” Bo-Seon says to him. Jumin’s hand stops moving against MC’s at the term, ‘boyfriend,’ and she reddens. 

“Chairman Han?” her father appeals to the man again. 

_“Yes,”_ Chairman Han seems to come a little out of his stupor- _also_ distracted by the word, ‘boyfriend,’ being used in relation to his son-and he gestures toward the leather settee where Jumin had spoken to V the night before, “Please, make yourselves at home.” Hak-Yeon and Bo-Seon waste no time in sitting down on the settee and Bo-Seon spreads his legs. Jumin starts work on MC’s hand again, which she is grateful for because her brother is embarrassing the whole family, whilst Chairman Han looks a little disapproving too, but swiftly moves on, “Is there any food or drink that you would like to have? Perhaps MC could make something for us?” He looks at MC now and it takes her a moment to work out that in a way he’s _actually_ apprehensive of her right in that moment, which places her in a unique position. She is viewed as a threat-to his son and the business that Chairman Han has spent so much of his time carefully building up and she needs to proceed carefully because of the fact, she knows, but she does not want to be _dismissed_ either, whilst her future is discussed and maybe even decided upon. 

“With the greatest respect Father,” Jumin says, successfully reading MC’s expression in spite of the fact that he doesn’t particularly want her to be there either, but being respectful of her choice all the same, “I think it’s wise for MC to remain here and to be able to be part of the discussion, so you will have ask a staff member if anyone should need anything.” 

Chairman Han looks irritated by Jumin’s words and seems to take them as another act of defiance. 

Hak-Yeon, however says, “Why don’t we get down to business if that is the case? I think we will _all_ feel happier once this is resolved.” MC wonders if Jumin and she will? 

Chairman Han is not used to being instructed by someone who he does not regard as his equal and for a moment he just looks at MC’s father in surprise, before he gathers himself together. “Yes, we have had a long-and _unexpected”_ -he looks at his son now-“Trip.” He settles himself down on the armchair that is opposite the settee, pulling out a chequebook from the inside of his jacket pocket, which causes Bo-Seon to lean forward and look at it greedily. MC begins to realize the extent of what is going on at that point and feels worried. Jumin squeezes at her hand, but feels short of breath as well. He watches as his father deposits the chequebook and a robust pen down on the coffee table that is between him, the other father and Bo-Seon. He strokes absentmindedly at MC’s hand. “What is the first price that you are willing to allow all of this to go away for?” Chairman Han looks at Hak-Yeon. MC looks at Jumin anxiously. It makes his blood _boil_ that they are trying to take one of the most important relationships in his life away from him in a business transaction. MC does some quick thinking in her head. 

“What are the terms Father?” Jumin asks in a voice, which almost wobbles with high-pitched vulnerability. MC shifts closer to him and his grip on her hand becomes almost painful. 

Chairman Han slowly turns his attention to his son. He seems to consider for a moment whether he _deserves_ to know about the thing or whether it would be best to just tell him to stay out of it and to remain a spectator to the deal. He seems to sense though, that even though he’d _like_ to think that he is merely teaching his son another important lesson about business, Jumin will _not_ be as willing to stay quiet and purely observe this time. He looks at how tightly his son is clutching onto the girl’s hand and then his eyes flicker back to Jumin’s. “No interviews from the family about this little incident _ever,_ isn’t that what we agreed on in the car?” He looks at Hak-Yeon now. 

“It is,” he says patiently and once again Jumin feels annoyed that they are trying to arrange things behind MC’s and his back. They are _not_ children any more…neither one of them is in a more vulnerable state because they've just lost a mother…they do not _need_ to be told what is best when they are perfectly capable of figuring it out for themselves. 

“No contact between MC and you ever again.” Both Jumin and MC release a little breath. Neither of them are _surprised_ by the fact and both had felt it coming, but it is a blow to hear the words being said and Jumin, even with his face mostly impassive, feels sick on the inside. He cannot have MC be taken from him! She is the _only_ thing that is making his life bearable! The prospect of her-the invitation that had been in her eyes when she said that she would have responded to his kiss! It is all he his breathing for! “The money can go to your future schooling my dear,” Chairman Han turns his gaze on MC, “Think of it as an investment. Or it can be a nice little nest egg for your future husband and you one day, but this foolishness with _my_ son”-his stare becomes a dangerous one-“Has to end _now.”_

“You will _not_ take her from me Father!” The thought of MC with anyone else drives Jumin mad with both rage and grief. His palm goes sweaty against her hand. He cannot _bear_ having to witness her with someone else, even _hearing_ about such a thing would be too much. His heart would shatter like an egg on the floor multiple times a day…He _knows_ that whatever the true definition of love is this is his. He cannot _live_ without MC. He refuses to. 

“Hold on Jumin,” MC wriggles her hand away from his with difficulty and Jumin almost snatches it back once more, _knowing_ how she under-values herself and how she is _bound_ to submit to the silliness that is on show here, before he is willing to, but she puts it placatingly on his chest, just over his heartbeat. Her eyes are fixed on Chairman Han as Jumin wriggles in discomfort and _tries_ to calm down and stop wishing that he could _literally_ pull her into his heart and carry her around protectively for the rest of his days. “You need to be buying _my_ silence, don’t you think?” What is she doing? Jumin’s heart teeters perilously in its place now and he grows still. Is she saying that after _everything_ she’s just like the rest of them? That she’s _only_ in this for the money? He wants to trust her, but feels like breaking down and cannot help but doubt her in that moment. He is so _used_ to thinking about people’s intentions after all and even with her and everything they have been through it is hard for him to let it go completely. Her hand shifts against his chest in what she hopes is a reassuring manner. _‘Trust me,’_ she seems to be telling him, _‘You won’t regret it, just like you told me that I wouldn’t regret joining the RFA and I am yet to do so because it has put me back in touch with you again.’_ Jumin releases a shuddery kind of breath. 

“Forgive me, but like so many of your sex you don’t _seem_ to understand the ways of business, my dear,” Chairman Han informs her condescendingly. “By me going through your father, you _are_ in agreement to the deal as well. You will benefit from the money, as I have just told you, you will so it is not a poor show from me. I am not _trying_ to pull the wool over your eyes like you might think I am.” She _can_ believe that because she _knows_ that Chairman Han is capable of being a good man. She’d seen it in the way that he’d behaved with her mother. Yet she is in no doubt that _whatever_ price they come to she won’t see a penny of the money and nor does she want to. It would be dirty money as far as she is concerned. She smiles now, but it is a smile, which should warn them that there is a danger to come and _not_ that she is more agreeable. Jumin senses it and steps back from her, worried about what she might do. MC lowers her hand and approaches his father, stopping just in front of him. “But we’re separate entities Chairman Han.” 

_“Hm?_ What are you going on about?” the businessman half-turns to her and demands. 

“You see _‘they’”_ -she points at Hak-Yeon and Bo-Seon-“Are not my family any more. They called me a whore last night and disowned me, so as far as _I_ am concerned I don’t _have_ a father or a brother any longer and if you make a deal then you will have to make _two.”_ Jumin feels a weird mix of admiration and fear towards MC in that moment. “One with them and one with me. _I,_ however, will not be accepting any money, and since _I_ will not be silenced it is pointless in _you_ offering any money to them either.” She points at Hak-Yeon and Bo-Seon now. She has _never_ been more relieved that the confrontation between them the previous night had taken place. It _finally_ seems to have some kind of purpose rather than just being a messy confrontation. 

“MC,” Jumin murmurs, coming to stand beside her again, “You don’t have to do this.” He is worried about what effect it will have on her in the long run, just like she had been with him before. 

_“Yes_ I do,” she responds slightly wetly now and _he,_ knowing that she feels like she doesn’t have any choice in the matter, slips his hand against hers. She grasps at it with her own needily and he squeezes it tightly in turn. 

“She is better at business than _you_ are!” Chairman Han looks scornfully at his son. 

“I know she has an aptitude for it,” Jumin shrugs, “It is one of the things that makes me unfailingly proud of her.” MC looks at him and Jumin offers her a forced, soft smile. Bo-Seon pretends to retch. 

“MC, why are you saying those things?” Hak-Yeon responds now. “Things got heated. It was a slip of the tongue. You must have misunderstood.” He chuckles awkwardly for Chairman Han’s benefit. 

“I think I understood you perfectly Father,” MC tells him in her coldest possible voice even though it hurts her to do such a thing. Yet it is the only way that she believes it can be. She cannot see a way where she can _possibly_ be able to live harmoniously with her father and brother for any longer and she wants _so_ badly to persist on this path with Jumin if she’s able to and if he’s _truly_ willing to make a stand just like she is. 

“A sensitive, sensitive girl,” Hak-Yeon tries to excuse her in front of Chairman Han. 

“Either way, you did not tell me that such things had occurred. I _hoped,_ despite being previously _aware_ of your ambition”-he is referring to how her father had quit his job to try and go into business with her brother-“That you were _trying_ to provide for your daughter and for your family. That, that was the _only_ reason you were jumping on this little opportunity and I could _see_ the logic in you doing such a thing myself. I gave you a second chance by employing your son. I _thought_ this might also put to rest my role in the events that happened afterwards and I _know_ that, obviously, you no longer have Chae-Yeong”-a hush falls in the room as, for the first time in so long, he says her name with such gravity-“To go out and plead on your behalf and so I took pity on you.”

“We do not _need_ your pity!” Bo-Seon is enraged and feels as if Chairman Han is minimizing their masculinity. 

“You took my wife from me,” Hak-Yeon growls, too upset himself to even _think_ about controlling his son any more, “Now your son, having watched your example, seems to think that my daughter will be an easy picking because of it and that he has some kind of _claim_ on her.”

“I do _not_ think that. No one could claim MC without her permission. She would not let them and I-I love her. That is the truth of the matter,” Jumin dumbfounds MC by declaring such a thing so openly and in front of their families. They all look at him. He strokes at her hand reassuringly. “I _love_ you,” he murmurs to her more gently and she lets out a breath, almost completely overwhelmed. 

“I-I love you too,” she tells him tearily, but such a demeanour is soon erased from her by the bright smile that Jumin gives her at her having the same courage as him. He squeezes at her hand again as if to say that it is all settled in that case. 

“This is all _very_ touching,” Chairman Han stands up impatiently, “And I'm glad that you seem to have had fun playing house-good practice maybe for when you _do_ marry Sarah, Jumin.” He hoists his trousers up now as he looks at his son. MC flinches a little at the reminder of the engagement and Jumin frowns heavily. _“But,_ as right you are, my dear, about the terms of our deal being pointless if _you_ should speak anyway I don’t think _either_ of you realize what is at stake here if you do _not_ comply with what we want you to.” He steps up to MC now and peers down at her. He is doing the thing to intimidate her, she knows, and he is both taller and broader than her, but she feels an odd courage from the fact that Jumin and she have announced what they want. She is aware too that his threatening behaviour is merely a façade like the one that Jumin puts on for _her_ sometimes. 

“I’d appreciate it if you did not approach MC in such a way Father.” It is time for Jumin’s hackles to rise and he shifts in front of MC. MC, feeling proud of him for continuing to stand up to his father, cups her hands around his hips supportively. 

“This has _got_ to stop!” Chairman Han looks at them both, amazed at how stubborn they are being. “Jumin, this is your inheritance son! Because this is what I _really_ mean by the fact that you don’t understand. Your _future_ is at stake here!” he tries to be more coaxing and direct in the hope of persuading his son. “Why, when I’ve set everything up for you so nicely are you choosing to defy me now?”

“ ‘The heart wants what it wants’”- Jumin declares and MC looks at him.

“I beg your pardon?” his father asks.

“It is something that I learnt from Driver Kim,” Jumin explains now and his father seems to mumble something about sacking the driver-“You will _not_ do such a thing and if you do then I will simply pay him myself Father”-

“I will cut off your money. Then what will you pay him with? Your dreams and hopes?” Chairman Han says nastily. 

“No, I will simply make _more_ money,” Jumin says now as if it is the obvious thing. “I am not _incapable_ Father. It is not as if I _need_ your backing.” His heart is racing and it feels as if he is on the top of a roller-coaster and his mind is screaming at him to stop and telling him that he doesn’t _have_ to go through with all of this, but part of him knows too that it is only the _fear_ of change that is making him feel this way and the fact that he has gotten used to obeying his father. He _knows_ with just as much certainty that he will regret it if he lets MC down now. She’s gone against her own family for him. He _needs_ to step up too. Chairman Han’s eyes widen in alarm. _“Yes,_ C & R is important to me and I would have _liked_ to have worked there,” Jumin admits now. 

_“Jumin…”_ MC says into his ear, feeling guilty and holding onto his waist. 

He rallies himself and shakes his head. He _will_ go on for her. “But if you can no longer find it within yourself to hand the business over to me then it won’t be the end of the world to me as it once might have been and it is because of _her_ Father.” Jumin gently tugs MC beside him now and wraps an arm around her shoulder. She can’t help but look at him and smile tentatively at his words. As if to give her more confidence he nuzzles his face against hers, brushing against her like a cat would and she can’t help but let out a bit of a laugh and feel delighted in spite of the situation. He kisses her on the cheek and disentangles himself from her. She watches curiously as he goes up to Hak-Yeon and Bo-Seon. “I have heard what MC has just said, but I would like you to know, in any case, that I will do my best by her and I _hope_ that you can begin to see that because of what I have just done. I will _always_ try to fix her when she is hurt or upset and one day,” he glances back at MC now, before looking towards the men again, “I would like to marry her.” MC grows very faint. 

_“You?_ Marry my sister? Not whilst we are still alive.” Bo-Seon gets to his feet now and Jumin and he face one another testily. 

“That is enough,” Hak-Yeon gets up, pushes in between them and looks at MC. “I wish to talk to you. No matter what has happened I like to think that you would grant me that one wish.” MC and Jumin look at one another with hesitance. “Will you come with me outside?” 

Jumin does not want to let her go. He is suddenly afraid that if she _does_ then it will be a trick and she will be bundled in the car and taken far away from him, that they will make it so that they will never see one another again, but at the same time she only has _one_ father and brother, he knows, and she has risked their relationships enough for him. “You should go Princess.” 

“Are you _sure?”_ she asks him, wanting to hear what her father has to say one-to-one to her, but not wanting to jeopardize things between Jumin and her and make him feel like she is now relenting on her promise to him. He nods seriously at her and she knows then that there is a trust between them that will struggle to be broken. Her face clears and she looks back to Hak-Yeon. “All right. I will speak to you for a few minutes outside, but if it is much longer than that then you should know that Jumin will come to find me.” She leads the way and Jumin stares after her admiringly. 

Bo-Seon, not wanting to be left there with the Han’s and feeling cowardly when it comes down to it, drifts outside too. Instead of conversing with his father or sister, however, he just keeps an eye on them as he smokes beside the car. 

“Are you _really_ sure that you want to do this son?” Chairman Han makes one last-ditch effort to appeal to Jumin now, as if he might just have been trying to show off to MC before and he might behave differently when it is just them. Perhaps he only _needs_ his father’s help to get away from the girl? “It is forever you know, I can’t just go back on my word when things sour, as they surely will between MC and you, my staff are relying on me. I will need to make other plans, no matter _how_ quickly it will all fall apart for you.” Jumin stares at his father rigidly. “Your reputation,” his father lowers his voice, “It will be _ruined_ son. I know you are confident, but if you go down the same avenues as C & R then there can only be _one_ inevitable outcome. I do not want my business to have to crush yours-and _Sarah!_ She will be so unhappy son! She thought I was coming to fetch you back!” 

“But I will have something that C & R will _never_ have Father, and that is MC. Like you have informed me, she is a very good businesswoman as well. I am sure that if she wanted to perhaps assist me in my ventures then we could do anything together. Maybe even _beat_ C & R?” 

“Won’t you give Sarah a chance Jumin? I'm sure that if you simply got to _know_ her a bit more then you would come to realize how _compatible_ you are together and MC would be a distant memory for you. Are you doing this because you’re angry with me?”

“I'm angry with you for putting the business first over so many important things Father. For tossing aside all the happiness that I _know_ that Chae-Yeong gave to you and forgetting her so quickly all so that the business could carry on flourishing. I _know_ that emotions are not useful a lot of the time in business, but that was harsh even for _you_ Father. I despise you also for trying to get rid of MC with money, as if she _too_ has been of no consequence, well she has to me and I do not wish to be someone who does that. Who thinks that, that is a fair exchange when MC has brought me happiness and hope of a different sort than the business could ever do. Saying that, however, I hope that our relationship can get back to what it was and that in _time_ you will give MC a fair chance. You seemed to like her when she used to visit the penthouse before?” he fishes hopefully.

“Yes, she was a nice enough girl and I was _glad_ that you weren’t kicking up as much of a fuss as you _have_ done over the years, and as you are doing _now_ about the relationships I’ve had and _am_ having, but I never saw her as being _fiancée_ material for you Jumin! I was merely trying to be polite to her”-

“Because she was Chae-Yeong’s daughter,” Jumin finishes quietly for him.

_“Yes…”_ Chairman Han looks suddenly ill-equipped to deal with all of this. “Everything changed that night between us, didn’t it?” he asks him and Jumin _knows_ that he is referring to the night that MC’s mother had died and bows his head. “That’s it. It’s not today or even _last_ night when you went off with MC, but _that_ one…” Jumin remembers the argument they’d had now-there had been the odd comment here and there, but they hadn’t raised their voices like that to one another _ever_ before-where Jumin had been appalled by how robotic and cold his father had been. He’d wanted his father to show that he’d lost the love of his life, that it was all _right_ to feel for a change, but instead Jumin had been left feeling as if he was the only one out of the pair of them who _cared_ about the death of MC’s mother. What was the point in such relationships if you didn’t dedicate yourself to the one you supposedly loved, _if,_ at the end of the day, you were able to brush a massive thing such as their death, off so easily? What was the point in even getting started with them? He’d been afraid of the business swallowing him whole. Afraid that either way he’d end up in too deep with the business or someone and end up getting hurt. _That’s_ why he’d ended up moving out and to try and put some distance between either thing happening, but it had only put off the inevitable and his father had dedicated himself to his partner, but not in the way that Jumin would have _liked_ him to have done and now he _himself_ is getting hurt. Chairman Han had been surprised then by the fact that Jumin’s move had been a permanent one. Now he is surprised by how stubborn he is being here. Jumin senses, however, that MC, out of everyone, is worth the risk and that is _why_ he is able to take it now. 

“I missed you then Father and I fear that I am going to be _left_ missing you for some time, but I disliked the way you behaved then and I _hate_ the way that you have been influenced by Glam to”-

_“Ju-min,”_ Chairman Han tells his son disapprovingly, “Glam is”-

“Morally corrupt and after your money Father. _Here,_ I have proof.” Jumin shows the message that he’d received at the same time as when his father had arrived, and though he feels pity and sorrow towards his father, for this stage in his father’s relationship with someone has come yet again and he _hates_ to be the one who has to break the news, there is also something triumphant about him too, for V has come through for him with the help of Seven, he suspects. 

Chairman Han bends down to look at the phone, tilting it towards him, whist his son stares at him with a desperate hope that he will _finally_ start to get it now. When Chairman Han reads that Glam has credit card debt and is _actually_ the sister of Sarah his face pales. “Must be a mistake,” he mutters, unable to believe the thing. “An error with the paperwork, that’s all. She would have told me if such things were true.” He gestures at the phone now as if it doesn’t _prove_ anything, but Jumin _knows_ that with the doubt in place his father will look it up for himself and discover the truth because he doesn’t _like_ things being less than a hundred per cent certain. 

“I am sorry Father.”

Chairman Han nods blankly and moves to sit back down again. He looks stunned that his son has turned the tables on his leadership and gotten the better of him.


	7. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So grateful for all your support! :3

It feels very weird for MC to be walking around a residence that belongs to the Han’s with her father. They drift in between the cherry trees and MC, though she _knows_ of course that the trees are sturdy, almost wants to take her father away from there, afraid that he might take his anger out on them, but her father has a stillness about him as he stealthily walks and ruminates. 

“I never expected this level of disobedience from _either_ your mother or you. _Never_ would I have thought that you would have treated me in such a way. I should have been _much_ tougher with the both of you then maybe you would not have done this.” He sounds like her brother now and MC realizes that he has been holding this in for a long time. 

“All I have done is fall in _love_ Father,” she tries to explain to him that she really hasn’t done _anything_ that he needs to tell her off for.

_“ ‘Love?’_ Is that what you call it? What you think this is? This is not _love_ MC,” her father says scornfully. 

_“What_ is it then?” MC asks him desperately now and they both stop and face one another.

“You have got your feelings mixed up,” he gestures at her, “You have somehow convinced yourself that it is love, that, _that_ is what you feel for this boy, but rather it is nothing more than the emotions you have for me being expressed through him because you are still so confused about your mother’s death. You blame _me_ for it don’t you?” he goes on and she lets out a breath. “That is the _only_ reason I can think of for _why_ you would claim to feel the way you do. You are angry with me. That boy has issues with his father. You have grouped against us as two children who are upset with their parents, but _none_ of this is about the way you feel for one another and I am _not_ about to let you make the same mistake that she did where by going off with a Han you think it will solve the problem and it won’t. It will just make things _worse_ for you MC. You will just be making the biggest mistake of your life if you even _think_ of marrying that boy, let alone go through with such a thing. You need to come back home.” She can tell that he is _genuinely_ worried about her in his own way.

“I won’t be going with you,” is what she says though. _“That_ is not my home any more.” 

“You need to go _home!”_ he grasps at her arm, before she can dodge him and tries to drag her back to the car. Frantic, and knowing that he is stronger than she is, she tries to delay the process in any way that she can-digging her heels in and attempting to peel his fingers off of her. His grip becomes so hard, however, that she _knows_ that there will be a bruise there the following morning. By the car her brother straightens, aware of what is going on. He tosses away his cigarette and opens the back car door. MC begins to wriggle. Jumin comes anxiously down the porch steps, his face pale, his mouth muttering garbled words. As her father tries to throw her in the back of the car MC twists at the last moment and hits her head, managing to push the car door shut with her back. Dizzily she slides down to the ground. 

_“MC!”_ Jumin exclaims worriedly, coming to a stop just behind where Hak-Yeon is turning to face his daughter fully. 

“Why couldn't you have let me take their money eh?!” her father explodes at her. “Why did you _have_ to make things so difficult for us? We could have finally had something! _Gained_ something from all of this mess! But instead you let me down like _she_ did, like your _mother_ did”- her father is practically sobbing now and MC realizes just to what extent her father is frightened of history repeating itself.

“Father it’s not your _fault_ either,” she gets out weakly, beginning to try and get up, as one hand instinctively touches at her head.

“No, it’s _yours.”_ His eyes seem to glow a brilliant amber now in the light and the hate that is suddenly there for her makes her breath escape and her rock down into position by the car again. 

_“Princess…”_ Jumin murmurs, as he sees the hurt that is forming upon her face and wishing that he could do something about it. 

“Let’s get her out of here,” Bo-Seon says grimly upon hearing Jumin, “We can teach her a lesson when she gets home.”

“Yes, yes,” her father nods, manipulated by her brother like Chairman Han has been with Glam, “She will never go _anywhere_ without an escort. She will stay at home and from now on she will behave _dutifully_ towards her family. We will make sure of such a thing. She will never get married, not to _him”-_ he jerks his head towards Jumin-"Or to anyone else." 

Bo-Seon grabs her roughly and pulls her to her feet now. MC can’t help but yelp out in pain. She sounds, to Jumin, like Elizabeth the 3rd when she has accidentally been trodden on and it sets off something in him. Even though he is the most scared that he has ever been he finds himself moving over there automatically and trying to get in between MC and Bo-Seon. MC whimpers in panic, telling him to back off, to not get involved, but he persists and finally Bo-Seon lets out a growl of anger and flings a hand toward Jumin. Through the explosion of blood Jumin staggers backwards and drops to his knees as he clutches at his nose. MC manages to free herself from her brother in the chaos and makes her way to Jumin, crouching and putting her hands upon his shoulders. 

“Are you okay?” Jumin twists his head to check on her first. He feels as concerned about her as he had when she had lost her mother. 

She nods, but has tears in her eyes. She doesn’t _have_ to ask with him. She can _see_ the damage.

“Get back here!” her father orders her in a state of rage. 

MC trembles a little against Jumin. He can feel her heartbeat on his back and it both reassures him and makes him anxious as blood drips down on to his hand from his nose. “I won’t,” she mutters, “I won’t”-

“What are you going to do then?” her father huffs now, as if he is _finally_ starting to see that he might not win this battle today after all. “Stay here? With _him?”_ Bo-Seon laughs mockingly at the prospect, along with how Jumin looks, and for once rather than annoying her father it spurs him on, “You won’t be able to _hide_ from the world and from the media’s glare. You will have to _decide_ what you want in life”-

“I just _have_ Father! The love I feel for Jumin has not been borne out of hate that I might feel for you or a need to get revenge. Jumin and I _both_ want to get on with our fathers, but we can’t do so when you are behaving like this. You are giving us _no_ option, and as for the fact that I will end up in the same place as mother nobody _knows_ the reason why she killed herself!” She grips onto Jumin’s shoulders now as she recalls the envelope that her mother had left for her, before she’d died. MC had opened it that same night. There had been several bits of paper within it, but the first had told her to not look at any of the others until her relationship with Jumin had been a steady one and she was as _sure_ as she could be that it was going to remain that way. Presumably her mother had figured out that her death would only cause _more_ tension between the two families and that their friendship might struggle to continue or even be on hiatus for a little while. MC had been tempted to disobey her mother’s instruction. After all what if Jumin and she never spoke again? Was she _really_ going to wait for something to happen that might never be resolved in her lifetime? But something about her had _always_ held back when she’d been on the verge of reading anything and had faith in her mother’s viewpoint that Jumin and she would be friends again some day. Now that they are she hasn’t had a chance to think about it. Only _now_ does she remember about the thing and wonder what’s inside its contents. It’s waiting for her inside her pink cherry rucksack, as that was the safest place that she’d been able to think of away from the prying eyes of her father and brother. Now she might _actually_ get a chance to find out the truth for herself…

“People don’t kill themselves for _happy_ reasons,” her father seems exasperated now and as if he still can’t believe that she has so much naivety inside of her after the way he’d tried to bring her up.

“That’s not”- she protests. 

“She died because of them and the media attention that she was getting!” He points savagely at Jumin. 

"We don't _know_ that!"

“That’s enough,” Jumin mutters quietly, but no one apart from MC seems to be able to hear him. 

“The media will eat you both alive and you don’t even have a _plan!”_

“I said that’s _enough!”_ Jumin staggers to his feet with MC’s help now and she _still_ holds onto his shoulders, peering around them so that she can look at her father. “Your daughter’s heart is breaking and you can’t even”-

“If you go through with this then you will have brought shame forever upon our family! _SHAME_ MC!” Her father’s spit goes flying. “How do you think it makes me look when I can’t even control the women in my own house?”

“I think it makes you look _weak,”_ Jumin says, trying to distract both men from his love. He can _feel_ MC’s heart racing against his back, _feel_ her body still quivering against him and it makes him _so_ angry that they are blaming her for everything when she has done _nothing_ wrong. All she has done is admit the person who she is and _wants_ to be for once. What is wrong with such a thing? Hak-Yeon’s face pales at the boy’s words and Bo-Seon looks ready to tear him limb from limb. He feels MC holding onto him all the more tightly. He doesn’t have to turn his head to know that there are tears upon her face. Maybe if they do this right then she can get back safely to the house and he can handle whatever punishment they dish out to him? “When I say _‘go’_ run into the house”-

“I'm not leaving you,” she says a little too loudly.

“Ha, you really think that the pair of you can win against us? How deluded _are_ you?” Bo-Seon remarks. 

_“Don’t_ call her that,” Jumin hits back, thinking that they should be _ashamed_ and that they don't deserve to call her family.

_“Jumin…”_ MC mutters, not wanting him to be any further involved _or_ to provoke them. 

“What is going on here?” Chairman Han emerges on to the porch. He’s been watching the scene from the reception room’s window and timing his moment to appear. He trots down the steps now and looks at them all with a little disdain upon his face. His eyes glimmer as he takes in Jumin’s bloody nose. “Quite frankly I agree with them son. You should be thankful that it’s not any worse than it is.” Whilst MC looks at his father darkly, Jumin takes the entire thing a lot better and he nods. He has _seen_ his father use this technique before-pretending to agree with the opposition and then attempting to make them calm down and be more open to negotiation. It might not be a business deal any more, but it is still _close_ enough to one. It makes Jumin happy that his father is taking a more neutral stance. Maybe he _is_ coming around to the idea of Glam possibly betraying him and to Jumin being with MC. His father looks steely, however, as he looks across at Hak-Yeon who eyes him grudgingly and waits to hear what he has to tell him. “It would be foolish to take things any further though. If the media see my son black and blue then it is only _you,_ unfortunately, who will be in trouble. Much wiser to retreat for today and come back with something better later on.” 

“And leave my daughter _here?”_ Hak-Yeon questions unhappily with folded arms. He is naturally a little suspicious of Chairman Han. 

Chairman Han looks steadily at MC. She can _feel_ Jumin nudging her so that she’s further behind him, but meets his father’s gaze with her own anyway. 

“For the moment it seems to be her will to be here. You can guarantee that they will soon get bored of one another. Most romances die in the end.” He glances at Jumin now and Jumin has _never_ seen him appear so sad before. It pulls and twists at all the threads that are inside him. _How_ he wishes that things had worked out differently! 

“But I am not prepared to wait that long,” Hak-Yeon protests. “For her to get hurt and our reputation to be sullied.” 

“I will _never_ hurt MC,” Jumin repeats what he’d told them earlier, but everyone aside from MC ignores him. She squeezes at his shoulder gratefully. 

“If the so-called relationship is not spoken about then no one’s reputation can be harmed,” Chairman Han looks at his son, seeking agreement. “It will fall apart naturally, through mutual agreement I'm sure in the end and neither your daughter _or_ your reputation will be hurt.” It sounds to Jumin as if he _knows_ which one is more important to the two men. “Jumin will give her a considerable sum if there is any difficulty and I'm sure, having come to her senses, she will want to fix her relationship with the pair of you by sharing her good fortune with you,” Chairman Han goes on, having seen Hak-Yeon’s still rather sceptical face. 

“Very well,” Hak-Yeon finally says and the air around them feels less heavy. 

“He is trying to hoodwink you Father!” Bo-Seon remarks and everyone grows tense now at his attempt to disrupt things. “Surely he would like _nothing_ more in reality than to have MC kept here as a token of how much they will _always_ win over us”-

“Don’t be ridiculous son! If I’d wanted that then why would I have brought you here myself? Why would I have spoken nothing more, this entire morning, than about making a deal and concluding all this mess? I want to draw a line under this just as much as you do!” It doesn’t sound like his father is bluffing now, but Jumin thinks that he still has to be careful of him. If Chairman Han associates MC with the mess of Glam Choi and Sarah because it had all happened at the same time then that might be _another_ reason for him to take against their relationship, along with the one that he’d mentioned to Jumin earlier-that he doesn’t think it to be a suitable match in the first place. 

“Yes, be quiet, why don’t you?” Hak-Yeon urges his son now, seemingly brought to a calmer level by Chairman Han. “We will retreat, but I expect a full apology and money when this is done.” He looks at MC who doesn’t nod or show any response. “You might like to think about everything that has been mentioned today in the meantime. Hopefully you will come to the obvious conclusion.” 

“My obvious solution is that I love him Father,” MC sends Hak-Yeon’s face out of joint. 

“We’ll see how long _that_ lasts,” he smiles grimly at her, before he clambers inside the car. 

“Don’t think that you’ve won,” Bo-Seon gives both MC and Jumin a heated glare, before he follows his father, still looking ready to attack and fight if he has to, his forehead glowing with sweat. 

“If I could urge the both of you to do _anything_ then it would be to think about things carefully, please,” Chairman Han tells them with a particularly meaningful look at his son, before he gets into the front passenger seat of the car. 

As they are driven away concrete is churned up again. They watch the smoke and car get further and further away for a moment and feel a slight _easing_ of the pressure that is inside them both. Then Jumin turns to her.

“You’re hurt,” she murmurs regretfully, touching lightly at the skin that is just beneath his nose and where blood has splattered. He does not reply and only assesses her face for a mere moment, before he pulls her into a hug. 

“You’re still with me…” he sounds to her now like he can’t believe it. Her breath hitches and her cheeks grow warm. She feels safe in his arms, but when he kisses faintly at her hair her head feels tender and she pulls away from him, which causes him to frown. He suggests that they get a doctor out, but she refuses to give her blessing for such a thing, though she feels emotional at how tenderly he is trying to care for her all the same. He fusses for a few more moments, trying to check if there is any visible sign of an injury on her head and parting her hair like he does when he checks Elizabeth the 3rd’s coat for ticks, but then he pulls back from her fully and looks alarmed. For a moment she’s worried about what he has seen, but then he says, “Elizabeth the 3rd? Elizabeth the 3rd is missing. I wanted to hold her when you were talking to your father, but I could not find her. It’s why I came out in the first place,” he tells her worriedly, as he remembers now, “I wanted you to help me look.”

“And I will.” She cups at his cheeks in order to try and calm him down. “But you need to take care of _yourself_ first”-

“Your head”-

“I'm fine,” she tells him, “There’s probably nothing wrong with me, but you need to go to the bathroom and take care of your nose. I will go and look for Elizabeth the 3rd.”

“You will find her?” he murmurs, hugging her again, and he sounds so vulnerable and beseeching in that moment that it makes her stroke at his hair like one would do to a child, as he clutches at her. 

“I will find her,” she assures him now, “She can’t have gone far. She probably got spooked from all the racket that everyone was making.” It was mostly her brother and father she knows, but she can’t think of that right now _or_ what had been said or done…her expression must waver, however, for Jumin touches at her cheek and peers at her with a gentle expression upon his face. “I _will_ find her,” she repeats. He nods trustingly, but looks after her in concern when she strides off to the house a moment later. She hadn’t even been able to _smile_ at him properly. His stomach twisting uncomfortably he heads inside the house as well. 

MC calls Elizabeth the 3rd’s name a couple of times and puts more food in her bowl as Jumin heads to the bathroom. She hopes that the smell of food might lure the cat out from wherever her hiding place is and MC taps a fork as enthusiastically as she can against the bowl for good measure. When the cat _still_ doesn’t put in an appearance she begins to search room by room, remembering to peek around curtains and below the settee on the off chance that she might have wedged herself there. She even lifts up and rummages through the blankets that are on the settee bed, hoping to hear a disgruntled meow, which will shortly be remedied with food, but to no avail. She can hear Jumin moving about in the bathroom, no doubt keeping one ear out for her progress and moves on to his room rather desperately, but thinks that she’ll have to double-check the bathroom if Elizabeth the 3rd hasn’t been found in the meantime. Could she have gotten into the clothes basket somehow and been unable to get out?

To her utter relief she sees the blue eyes of the cat staring out at her warily from beneath Jumin’s bed. “Oh, Elizabeth the 3rd, it is _so_ good to see you again. You had Jumin very concerned. _Jumin!_ She’s in here love!” she immediately blushes at what she’d just called him and hopes that Jumin hadn’t heard it. They haven’t had the chance to discuss what they are properly after all and what with everything that had happened and in _spite_ of his stoical reaction to it all it is likely that he is already regretting pairing himself with her instead of continuing with the security that his father is able to offer him. Jumin enters the room, as she stands there nervously and she can _tell_ by the dazed expression that is on his face, which makes her _own_ soften, that he had obviously heard her. Her heart flutters a little at the thought that he might have _actually_ liked such a thing. He is holding a piece of toilet tissue in his hand and there is still a stain of blood beneath his nose, but as his eyes begin to glimmer when they fix on her she gets quickly worried again and feels the need to say, _“Sorry,_ I think it was just all the relief from finding her and from still being here and”-she recognizes that she’s rambling and turning redder-“Is your nose all right?” She gestures now. “Here, let me look at it for you.” She bridges the gap between them and makes to take the toilet tissue from him, but stops doing such a thing when he wraps an arm around her. Her eyes close briefly as he pecks at her hair. 

“You should sit down,” he murmurs, “Now that you have found her, which I am happy that you did”-

“Er, yeah, she’s just beneath there,” she indicates to the bed but Jumin’s looking at her as if he’s not done with _her_ yet and seems to be oddly uninterested in his cat. 

“I have not been called that before, not by my father”-MC smiles a little at that, for she can’t _imagine_ Chairman Han doing such a thing, but then it slides off her face as she feels guilty over what has happened and worried about the implications that it will have for Jumin and his father-“Not by _anyone_ in fact…” he holds a piece of her hair in between two of his fingers at that point. “But it was quite pleasant, I must admit, coming from your mouth.” She blushes. He pinkens high on his cheekbones and looks away from her. His hand fidgets with the toilet tissue. She wants to kiss him and so makes to peck him on the cheek, but his head swivels around at the last moment and he begins to say her name. It gets lost inside of her because of the open-mouthed kiss that she suddenly finds herself bestowing on him. Her eyes widen and she pulls away from him sharply, already muttering many apologies and making to step back. They should talk. They should _definitely_ talk, before they-attracted by the electric sensation that she had started inside of him Jumin pulls her body back to his roughly and lets the energy flow between them fervently. He _only_ relaxes a little when he feels her body submitting. She is suddenly, and enthusiastically, on her tiptoes. _Knowing_ that she has made the right decision in choosing him and trusting him one hand curves around the back of his head and tugs on to his hair, which causes him to groan ever so slightly into her mouth, as his arms tighten and cross over her back. The toilet tissue flutters from his hand, as he strokes at her encouragingly and allows her to steer the kiss that he had started, savouring it himself and feeling like he is _so_ lucky to be able to experience it after all that has happened. Elizabeth the 3rd finally comes out of her hiding place to investigate the matter of the toilet tissue. As her master and that girl she likes make strange noises above her she paws at it, before she weaves around them and then purrs. Jumin pulls away ever so slightly and chuckles against MC’s lips at the behaviour of his cat. He feels happier than he has done in a long time. MC whimpers slightly at the loss of contact and he quickly renews it, cupping at her cheeks with both his hands and crushing her lips with his own…

_“…Jumin…”_ she murmurs when they are _finally_ forced to break apart for air. Her lips are swollen, but she is looking at him as if to say that she wouldn’t _mind_ kissing again. She is the most ravishing sight he has ever seen and somehow _he’d_ made that expression come on her face! It compels him to wrap a steady arm around her back and pepper all around her mouth teasingly with kisses, before he briefly touches their lips together again and then stands back from her. She has never seen so much colour on his face before-pinks and reds- _or_ him seemingly struggling with himself, as he is now-his hands go to his cuffs and toy with them non-stop-and she looks at him curiously, feeling shy, but bolder than she has ever done in her entire life.

“You must not give me an opening,” he explains to her, “Or I might not be able to stop myself and I don’t want to hurt you just because I don’t have perfect control of myself. I want to take things slow with you. I want to experience _everything_ at the best that it can possibly be, before we move onto the next stage.”

She reddens all the more at that. “All right…” she murmurs in agreement, though her hand can’t help but reach across to touch at his hair again. “I suppose that will mean a _lot_ of practicing then?” she teases. 

“It is _exactly_ you saying such words that I mean.” He kisses her roughly on the cheek for punishment now. She smiles a little wickedly at him, before her face grows more composed and he finds this new side of her most intriguing. He hopes there will be room to explore every part of it. “Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?” She nods now, rapidly turning more thoughtful and practical. He looks at her carefully. “I would like to teach you the way that my family make it someday”-he feels something pleasanter knot inside him when she looks more distracted by what he is saying and her cheeks flush-“Why don’t you relax though today, whilst I make it for you?” He kisses at her cheek fondly, blowing at it, before he draws away and he likes the way that she shivers in response. 

_“Mm._ I think I’ll have to go and tidy myself up first.” She _hates_ to bring back what has happened between them, but _knows_ that it will not be able to go away yet. More seriously he lifts up her palm and kisses at its centre.

“I am sorry that things did not work out with your father and that I wasn’t there for you sooner. Maybe I should have supervised? But _I”-_

“I _know,”_ she murmurs, “You wanted to give us some space and I am grateful to you for that.” 

Jumin nods and looks relieved. “I was frightened when I saw you-when I thought that they were going to take you away from me. They do not deserve you…I am not sure if _I_ do, _but”-_ She brings her head to his chest now and rests it there. He holds her gently, his hands low on her back, feeling the sadness that is radiating from her and becoming that way himself. 

“We can’t afford to mope,” she pulls back from him after a time, forcing a smile onto her face and he admires her strength once more. 

“I know what they said about leaving us alone for a little while, but I will _have_ to upgrade security and find some for you who”-

“I wouldn’t want”- 

“It will be _more_ of an inconvenience if either of us get hurt,” Jumin points out to her. 

MC sighs and then nods acceptingly. “Okay, but I’d like to know _who_ they are and what their working conditions are like.”

“Very well.” Jumin nods now in turn, already thinking fondly about _how,_ knowing her, she will probably be asking about their families and making their lives easier in any way that she can. He _must_ keep encouraging her to put herself first though, he thinks and he frowns. 

“What was the meeting with your father like? It was hard to tell when he came out?” she is both hopeful now and fearing bad news. Jumin’s face falls however and her heart sinks.

“It wasn’t as dramatic, I’ll admit, as what happened between your _own_ father and you, and he showed _some_ signs when he talked outside that made me feel as if he might be able to come around”-

_“Oh?”_ she’s encouraged. 

“But I think it’ll take more time yet.”

Her face drops. “I'm sorry…Thank you for standing by me.” 

“I was _only_ following my Princess,” he informs her, his voice low, passionate and proud. “I might _never_ have had the courage to do what I did, it pains me to confess"-she touches at his arm because he _had_ done such a thing-"If you hadn’t taken the lead.” She feels happy. He caresses at her arm, before he draws his hand back and says, “I found something out. That helped me considerably.”

_“Yeah?”_

_“Yes,_ the message I had just before my father and your family came, it was from V,” he reveals and he goes on to tell her about Glam and Sarah. She gasps in all the right places and appears angry on the Han family’s behalf, which pleases Jumin. 

“How did he take it?” 

“It will take time,” he re-iterates and MC notices how suddenly tired he looks, before he creases his face with a more hopeful smile. “But I believe that within a couple of days, and once he’s done his _own_ research on the matter, Glam and Sarah will be out of his life for good.”

“That’s something,” she murmurs. He nods. “So they won’t be a problem any more and you won’t be engaged?” she looks a little sheepish now and ducks her head, paying _more_ attention to his tie instead. 

“I won’t be engaged,” he confirms and she kisses him happily, hugging him to boot. “You didn’t _like_ the idea of me being engaged?” She shakes her head. He looks down at her curiously, trying to work it all out. “Was it because I would have been engaged to another _or-?”_ She looks at him in the eyes suddenly, her expression confirming what he had said. “I meant what I told you,” he tells her gently now, “When all this is over then I would like nothing _more_ than to marry you.” He tucks a strand of hair back behind her ear. She’s always covering them up, but he thinks that her ears are too adorable _not_ to be seen.

“I’d like that _very_ much,” she beams at him and Jumin’s heart squirms in delight. How did he ever get so lucky to have her in his life and for her to have _honestly_ just said that she’d be happy to marry him one day? MC looks down bashfully. Jumin smiles, but when she looks back up at him again she looks _far_ more serious and he wonders tersely what she can be thinking about.

“Are you changing your mind already, Princess?” He really hopes that she isn’t. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were.” He steps back now with a sigh and her mouth opens to speak, but he gets there first, “I would rather not have to tell you this”-she looks concerned-“I would like nothing _more_ than for us to stay here forever and pretend that nothing is wrong, but, at the end of the day we would be _fools_ to try and stop this change and no matter _what_ I do with my life I fear that the media will _always_ harbour some degree of interest in me. I would like for you not to have to go through it”- he looks conflicted. 

“It’s not that,” MC quickly informs him. She looks shy again and Jumin looks at her curiously. “Actually it’s-Are you _really_ sure that you’re prepared to lose your inheritance? That you’ve thought about it properly? You’ve been working towards it your entire life. I wouldn’t want to”-

“You’re _not_ getting in the way,” he cuts her off sharply now, before he goes on more softly, “Didn't you hear me in the reception room?” 

“Of course,” her face softens. “And I'm very grateful and _touched_ that you would even _consider_ doing such a thing for me, I can’t put into words _how_ much I am, but I don’t want you to go ahead now only to regret it later. I don’t want you to feel as if you have to give up _everything_ for me. I couldn't bear it if…” she lowers her gaze. 

_“Princess?”_ Jumin questions. 

“If there was any resentment between us,” she confesses looking teary-eyed now and he pulls her close. 

“When are you _ever_ going to get it into your head that I'm choosing _you?”_ he murmurs right into the shell of her ear and she shivers a little. “I have realized how important you are to me-well, no, that’s not quite true-I have been feeling these things for a while now and you have been important to me for a long time, but it is only _now_ and during this trip that I have realized that I love you.” Her heart flutters madly at his words and at the tender expression that is on his face, as if he _knows_ what he is doing to her and is most thankful to be able to have that kind of effect on her. “You must let me do this for you because it’s what _I_ think is right and even if it somehow turns out _not_ to be, then it’s _my_ choice.” 

“We should at least talk about it some more though?” 

“After I make you some tea,” Jumin agrees, “Now go and get yourself cleaned up.” He urges her away from him and she hurries to the bathroom. Jumin makes his way to the kitchen with a smile, glad that she is doing what he wants her to by looking after herself for a change and hopeful that she might _actually_ take a bit of time out for herself. He thinks of the kiss and how soft her lips had felt against his own as Elizabeth the 3rd trots after him, almost pushing him along. 

MC arrives in the kitchen about ten minutes later, looking slightly flushed and Jumin wonders hopefully if _she_ too has been thinking about their kiss, but when she opens her mouth she sounds determined and like she has been thinking about much else, _“So”-_ she seems like she will simply go on with what they had been talking about before. 

“Your tea my darling.” He steers her into a seat at the table and puts the cup down in front of her pointedly, before he pecks her on the cheek. 

“It smells delicious,” MC feels a little guilty for going on about things, but it’s not as if it _isn’t_ important to make sure that he’s a hundred per cent certain about this and that he knows what he’s doing here. Elizabeth the 3rd laps at the food in her bowl. 

“If we are going to talk more about this then it is my belief that I should make a statement to the media tomorrow.” His mind made up he sits opposite her. He has not made any tea for himself. 

“A _statement?”_ she questions him. “But what about what your father said? He made out as if we should keep things quiet for now.” 

“Is that what _you_ want?” Jumin looks at her carefully. 

“Of course not.” She shakes her head. “I’d like-I’d _like_ us to be able to be more open with everyone. For us to be able to go out and behave how we like, but I don’t want things to get even _worse_ between your father and you, which they surely will if you defy him.”

“It is not only that, that we have to think about,” he informs her.

“What do you mean?” Her hand takes some comfort from pressing itself around the warm cup, but she avoids drinking any of the contents. 

“The media will be interested, _especially_ to begin with and like I have said _regardless_ of the distance that I am putting between myself and my father. In fact they will probably be _more_ so because of such a thing.” MC nods, following him so far. _“Drink,”_ Jumin commands and she rolls her eyes a little when he nods to the cup, before she wriggles when he taps at her foot with his own as punishment beneath the table. She takes a sip and feels numb for one glorious moment, just taking in the flavours that swirl around her mouth. Jumin waits for her to replace the cup on the table, before he goes on, “The earlier we tell them the sooner that their attention might move onto something else and if _we_ make the statement-you could give me your thoughts on what you want to say, but you wouldn’t have to _be_ there Princess, I could make it on our behalf”-

“I’d _like_ to be there.” He’d expected her to say such a thing, but part of him wishes that he could prepare the statement through only using V as a soundboard over the phone and keep MC protected and out of the thing somehow. It is too late for that however. He has already been so bold as to mention the statement and he _knows_ that it would not be fair to try and block her. “What’s going on in that great, big brain of yours Jumin Han?” she muses, looking at him wistfully. 

Jumin smiles a little at the remark. She opens so many doors inside of him when she says things like that-doors, which he hopes that he will be able to guide her through soon. He threads their fingers together. “We would be in more control of the narrative if we direct it ourselves and it is the _truth_ after all. V told me that there can be _nothing_ stronger than such a thing.” She squeezes at his hand, knowing that he must feel all the more isolated from his oldest friend from being at the cherry farm. “If I can declare that I will _not_ be taking over the business like everyone expects me to”-his heart constricts naturally from just saying such a thing and he feels for a moment as if by not being able to do it all he has failed somehow-“That I want to run a smaller and more manageable business, whilst making time for you then that will hopefully keep their interest from dragging out for too long, as things will be clear. It will better, I think, in the long-run for it to happen that way. The media will have all the time that I am in college to get over it and to get used to the fact that I am with you. Are you prepared to wait for me?” he is suddenly nervous.

“I’ve been waiting all this time just for us to be friends again. I _think_ I can wait a bit more.” They smile at one another now and grasp tightly onto the other’s hand again. 

“Then by the time I am _actually_ ready to start my business they should be over it all. There might be a bit of attention when the business initially opens, but that will hopefully be it aside from the obvious comparing that will take place between it and C & R. Since it will be a smaller business and after some time passes we might hopefully be able to avoid that. I might be able to get on better terms with my father as well.” He looks off to the side wistfully. “By that point he will surely know how committed I am-both to business _and_ to you.” He looks at her steadily and she blushes a little. _“However”-_

“Right now and up until that point?” she guesses. 

Jumin lets out a sigh. “They will be interested in you and”- this is how far he’d gotten and what he’d _sensed_ would now be the best course of action, before she’d come into the kitchen and in between reminiscing over their kiss and the pleasanter things, which had taken place between them that morning. He _is_ aware however of what he might have no choice to do. He wants to get her permission for it first, of course he does, but he is worried about how she will respond to the thing. She has had _enough_ strain put on her by her family that day and he doesn’t _really_ want to bring this up now, but their time is limited. 

“What is it?” she urges him, stroking the side of his thumb encouragingly with her finger. She knows that whatever it is must _not_ be good from all the hesitation and reluctance that he is giving her, but she trusts him and _knows_ that whatever it is he must already have decided that it is the best option and so she will just have to see what she thinks about it herself and discuss it with him either way. 

“I think we might have to tell the truth to everyone and say that your mother committed suicide,” Jumin meets her eyes whilst speaking, but then they dart away again, worried about what she might think. 

_“Oh,”_ is MC’s instant reaction and Jumin’s heart sinks. She gets up. 

_“Princess…”_

She walks off. He recognizes that she might need some time to think about it all, but feels _awful_ that he cannot console her and for bringing it up in the first place. He should have waited a couple of hours at least, he thinks, chiding himself. Maybe it had not needed to be said right away and they could have relaxed a little. They would have probably been safe enough to, he realizes now. _Still,_ his stomach clenches at the thought of her mother’s death finding its way to the media through one of their families at some stage. He doesn’t want to take the risk of waiting, doing nothing and it coming out. Not when MC is involved… 

To his surprise MC returns a few moments later, her soft footsteps heralding her return. She smiles wearily at him. He smiles gratefully at her; that is until he sees the envelope that she is clutching. It is the one that he’d picked up from the coffee table in his father’s penthouse, the one that Chae-Yeong had left for her daughter just over a year ago…Jumin swallows. He’d often _wondered_ what it had said and more to the point speculated about how its contents might have affected MC, but he would never have dared to ask her about such a private thing. 

“I thought this might help. I’ve been assuming up until now that maybe it _was_ the media attention, which drove her to her death”-Jumin looks guilty and she feels bad for having to confess the thing even though it _is_ the obvious answer-“You couldn't have done anything,” she tells him, but he wishes again that he had spotted something in the behaviour of MC’s mother and that he had even _encouraged_ his father to do more regarding how her relationship with the media worked. Surely it could have been handled better? “We need to know as much as we can if we’re going to tell other people about it.” She sits down matter-of-factly. 

“You have never looked at it?” 

She shakes her head, grasping at his hand again. “I opened it, but there was a note inside telling me not to look at anything else without our friendship being in a stable place again”-

“Your _mother?”_

“Seemed to realize, yeah,” she murmurs, her cheeks an embarrassed red and both of their gazes go to where she has put the envelope in between them. 

Jumin feels curious and a bit on edge about the whole thing. _Why_ had her mother wanted their relationship to be in a steady position? What is _so_ alarming inside the envelope that MC might need comfort from him? “You are fine with looking at it now and me being here?” 

“You told me to only show it to people who I love,” she smiles a little at him and Jumin finds himself doing so momentarily at the reminder that she does in fact love him, before he grows more serious again as her fingers slide towards the envelope and flick it open. 

Jumin watches, ill at ease and dreading what this might do to her and to their still so new relationship if the media are confirmed as being the culpable ones, as MC takes out a wad of papers and locates the first note. He inspects it himself and finds it to be entirely as she’d said it would be. She pulls out the main letter, which-he has enough time to glimpse, before she pulls it more firmly towards her-has been written on floral-scented writing paper with a dark frame depicting lilies around two of the corners. 

_“ ‘MC,’”_ MC begins to read aloud, her hand a little unsteady and Jumin twists his around to squeeze at her other. She pauses to smile at him wobbly. _“ ‘How are you?’”_ she can feel her mother’s warmth seeping through her immediately and uses the effusive greeting to help ground her and steady her for the emotion that might be ready to well up. _“ ‘I don’t know how many months or years might have passed since my death. All I know is that if you saw my note and followed my instruction then you are with Jumin right now-or at least in a position where he is your friend again- and that makes me feel grateful for the fact’”-_ MC breaks off to look at him affectionately and Jumin tries to be strong for her in turn- _“ ‘I do not know how you feel about my death’”-_ again MC has to pause there and Jumin _tries_ to make soothing noises and stroke at her hand reassuringly, but when that doesn’t particularly work and she bows her head he goes to crouch down beside her, supporting himself by holding onto the table. She gurgles and throws an arm around his shoulder, pecking at his hair. He wraps an arm around her in turn. 

“Do you want me to read it to you?” he offers to her, even though he is a little nervous at the prospect himself. She nods now. He shifts his position a little and squeezes at her waist. She holds the letter in a place where they are _both_ able to see it. Jumin clears his throat. _“ ‘I do not know how you feel about my death,’”_ -he repeats- _“ ‘But there is not much time and I need to explain a few things to you, so I hope that you don’t hate me for what I’ve done and feel as if I’ve abandoned you’”-_ MC swallows, as she has felt that on _more_ than one occasion and Jumin looks at her in a steadying fashion- _“‘That I have been trying to do the right thing for you all this time. I desperately hope that you don’t feel the same way as Jaehee who has taken against her parents since their deaths’”-_ he looks at MC curiously now- _“ ‘If you do though then I only have myself to blame.’”_ Jumin takes a bit of a breath at that. MC says something incoherently. _“ ‘I need to explain. I don’t have much time and you need to know all of this. You see I made a mistake, not long after I moved in with Chairman Han’”-_ both of their breaths hitch in their chests at that point- _“ ‘I don’t know if you know but in my time there I received a lot of correspondence.’_ From the wives of businessmen, members of the public and the media no doubt,” Jumin fills in and MC nods, wondering where all this is going. _Are_ the media responsible? _“ ‘It was after you had started to come around to the apartment. I was so glad to be able to see you sweetheart’”-_ Jumin fumbles over the last word a little awkwardly, as if he might be calling MC that himself, but could get used to such a thing- _“ ‘And about your blossoming friendship with Jumin’”-_ both MC’s and Jumin’s hearts squirm at such a thing- _“ ‘But of course it wasn’t quite the same as it had been and I still missed you. That has been the worst part of all of this I think. That and the implications of my mistake. I started to get letters from a teenage girl. I thought they were harmless at first. A bit strange perhaps, but I detected a loneliness coming from this girl and an anxiety, which was more truthful than a lot of the letters I received back then.’_ Most would have been trying to suck up to her I'm sure or saying that they disapproved of her being with my father,” Jumin adds at that point and MC nods, but worried about her quietness he goes on, “Are you all right? If you want to stop for a moment at any time-?”

“I'm okay.” She grips at his shoulder and attempts a smile at him bravely. 

“All right,” Jumin has his _own_ reservations and a sense of foreboding, but he continues to read, _“ ‘I suppose on one level I connected with her because she was talking about changes in her life and I had been going through my own. She reminded me of you and I suppose that I tried to help her in the same way that I would have helped you if you had come out with such things. I got in too deep with the girl though, before I even knew what was happening, but I want to make it clear now that none of this is your fault. We spent as much time together as we could. I was the one who left you,’”_ Jumin stops there for a moment as if to give MC time to digest what she has just heard. 

“She doesn’t _mean-?”_ MC asks after a moment, pushing her finger against the words, _‘too deep,’_ as her eyes scan the letter again. 

“I don’t think she became involved with her romantically no,” Jumin says, knowing that it would be a lot for MC to take in if her mother _had,_ had an affair with a young girl. It would explain more about why Chae-Yeong had wanted Jumin and MC to read the letter together though and he still feels a bit uneasy about what might be to come because of that. _“ ‘The main concern that the girl seemed to have was that one of her friends was becoming a bit more distant from her.’”_ Jumin almost scoffs at the trivial-sounding concern, but then he remembers how hard it had been for him when he’d been estranged from MC. _“ ‘That friend was Jumin.’ Rika?!”_ Jumin diverges from the letter now to exclaim. “Your mother knew _Rika?”_ They stare at one another in shock, minds whirring. “ _‘She seemed to think that was because Jumin was getting closer to you MC. She seemed like such a sweet girl coming from a place of care. I tried to console her with the fact that it was good for Jumin to have more friends. I feel that he’s in an isolated position because of his father’s business. I'm not sure if you’ve ever felt the same MC, but I'm sure that you more than likely have done. I hope you understand because of it why I felt as if the more people that he is able to connect with the better.’”_ Jumin had read the part about him hurriedly and his face feels hot now because of her words. MC touches fondly at his hair again, knowing that this must be hard for him too since he is not used to showing his emotions, much less having them written out on paper like that and it must be strange too having them be said by her mother when he’d seen her mother almost as his own. _“ ‘I told her that Jumin was probably just caught up in having a new friend’”-_ again Jumin feels terribly embarrassed- _“ ‘And that in time and as he got used to you things would probably settle down and he’d spend an equal amount of time with everyone. Rika, the name of the girl I am telling you of and who Jumin at least should know if he is there with you, didn’t seem to be convinced by my words and religion started to crop up more frequently in her letters. Some of them didn’t even pass security. Having not heard from her in a while I checked with them and told them to let all her letters through from now on, no matter what the contents of them were. It might have been better off for us all if I had not done such a thing. She seemed to see you MC as a threat to the order that she had somewhat established in her life. She seemed to be almost talking as if’”-_ Jumin cuts off abruptly now and his face pales. 

_“Jumin?”_ MC asks, looking at the letter herself, but Jumin gets there first with the words, _“ ‘As if you had to be purged or cleansed from everybody’s lives.’”_ Jumin looks at MC. His grip on her waist grows firmer and he kisses at her upper arm. It feels like he is reading what he imagines one of Zen’s plays to be-something fantastical that must be untrue. Rika considering MC a threat? This would have been _months_ before the incident with Sally had even happened after all.

_“Jumin?_ It’s okay. I'm here. I'm here with you,” MC tells him now even though she sounds strangely distant. 

Jumin clears his throat at that point and goes on, _“ ‘But I know better. There is nothing wrong with your friendship with Jumin. I have loved hearing you talk together, even if it was only indistinctly and in the background. I am sorry if this is overstepping, but it has made me wonder what the pair of you could turn out to be one day.’”_

“She really _did_ see everything,” MC says wetly, thinking about her mother keeping an eye on Jumin and her. 

Jumin nods, before, and with a furrowed brow, he goes on, _“I am beginning to feel very protective about the relationship you have with him. I know that it is one of the brighter parts of both of your days and I want to preserve it, but I was and am still worried about this girl. I detect a dark presence in her, MC. I am concerned about what I have done by indulging her so much and worried about what it might mean for your welfare.” Jumin pauses. “At the same time, and maybe foolishly, I can’t help but feel glad for the fact that I have replied to her, even now, for she has spoken of abandonment so frequently in her letters and children who just get thrown away. I believe she helps out in a children’s home from time to time so maybe that is where she is from? Anyway, at least I was able to offer her some comfort in the time that we have been speaking even though she didn’t always want to hear me. I think though, that the bottom line is that she believes Jumin has shut off his heart from her and become colder as a result. I am sorry Jumin. I didn’t want to have to write that out, but I feel as if it is important that both MC and you know what you are dealing with and where she is coming from.’”_ Jumin takes a bit of a deep breath and pales all the more. 

“This is _not_ your fault.” MC sees the expression that is upon his face. He nods vaguely, but doesn’t look convinced. He still seems to think that he could have done better throughout the whole situation. 

_“ ‘I have enclosed some of her letters so that the pair of you might be able to see such a thing all the more. It is my belief, however, Jumin that you have in fact opened your heart more and become _warmer_ by being friends with MC, but then I would say that, wouldn't I?'" That makes the two of them smile. " 'Another point that it might be important for you to both know-I think Rika also felt that her boyfriend V was neglecting her at the time and not being the person who she wanted him to be.’”_ MC looks at Jumin. _“V,”_ he begins, looking completely shocked now, “Has always been _completely_ devoted to her. That is what I thought anyway. That is what it _seems_ like. I have never heard Rika or their relationship being talked about in such a way before.” She touches at his hand soothingly, feeling stunned about the way that things are developing herself. _“ ‘In the end, and worried about how things were developing, I met with Rika. The girl I saw in a café on the outskirts of the city, where we were less likely to be spotted by people, was very disturbed and little did I know but things were about to get worse.’”_ Jumin frowns now and MC glances at him and then at the letter. The page ends there, but there is nothing more to the thing and when they rifle feverishly through the rest of the contents in the hope that they will find the remainder of her mother’s letter all they have is what she has included of Rika’s letters. 

“Why is there no more?” MC asks in frustration, settling the letter back down and leaning back in her chair. 

“I don’t know,” Jumin mutters, looking pale and drawn. “But we have discovered a lot. I believe we would benefit from some time to ourselves.” Already half on his feet he pecks MC on the cheek and then quickly walks away from her. She watches him for a moment, her head spinning. Then she neatly gathers up the contents of the letter, pushes it back inside the envelope, washes up the teacups rather robotically and takes the envelope outside. 

The fresh air comforts her a little and makes her feel closer to her mother and like she might _yet_ be able to get some answers _despite_ the way the letter had cut off so suddenly. It had told her enough to make her believe and _know_ that there is more to her mother’s suicide than purely the pressure she had been under as Chairman Han’s latest girlfriend. She wonders how the letter would have continued. Presumably it would have gone on to tell her about the incident in the café with Rika. _Rika…_ She would never have thought, if her mother hadn’t of told her, that she was somehow caught up in all of this. That her mother and her had been in communication with one another. She looks at the sample of letters that her mother had included from Rika. Through her neat handwriting growing into a messier scrawl alone it is easy to see the confused person that her mother had painted out Rika to be. Neither the style of the letters or what is written in them give her the missing answers though. They don’t tell her _why_ her mother committed suicide. Rika is purely focused on herself. MC goes through the sort of person her mother had been and the one that she remembers now-mostly selfless aside from that one affair yet still possessed with a fierce want to look out for others, including MC and now Rika it turns out. She tries to put different scenarios together in her head and see if any of them make sense, but the truth still seems to be off in the distance somewhere. She runs through what she knows about her mother and Rika again. Not coming up with anything else that is different other than what she now knows she wonders what conclusions Jumin is coming to, before a memory stirs at her. A memory of her mother’s hand being on her shoulder by the orphanage. A memory of a blonde girl in front of them. A blonde girl who had tried to get MC to go with her that day…a little noise escapes her and she rushes inside. The contents of the letter scatter out on the floor just inside of the door. She ignores them. _“Jumin!”_

There is a clinking sound; a hurried scraping of a chair and Jumin suddenly emerges from the kitchen, still looking pale and this time carrying a wine bottle. The sight of him like that catches her off guard. “Is this what you do when you are upset? _Drink?_ Try to pretend that it isn’t happening?” His hair is also a little wild as if he has been running his hands through it. 

“If that were true then I would have become an alcoholic in the time that we were apart,” his voice responds roughly to her questioning. “What about you?” he nods at all the mess that is on the floor. “What have you discovered? Did you find the final part of the letter?” 

She shakes her head, and then, as she thinks about it again she finds that she has to steady herself against the wall. “It wasn’t the _first_ time my mother had seen Rika and at school wasn’t the first time _I_ had either.” 

Jumin’s brow creases at her words, but he pales as she tells him about the moment outside the orphanage and the girl who had tried to get her to go with her. When she is done he makes to take another swig from the bottle, but she pulls it away from him. Her eyebrows rise at him challengingly and she takes a sip of the thing herself, before she coughs a little at its sharp tang and lowers it gingerly to the floor. Elizabeth the 3rd emerges as she does so and curls her body around the bottle. 

“Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin hiccups slightly, “Cats cannot drink wine.”

“It would be a good business idea though,” MC smiles bravely, trying to have some time off from feeling shaky from what she has discovered. Had Rika been trying to abduct her? Her mind goes back to what her mother had said about Rika’s feelings towards her. Has she been looking at this from the wrong angle? Instead of thinking about her mother and linking her with Rika should she have been thinking about Rika and lining her up with _herself?_ Had Rika threatened MC in front of her mother? Is that _why-?_

“If it is not a good time for me to drink then it is _not_ a good time for you to be making jokes MC,” Jumin interrupts her thought firmly and she grows more serious. “You should be taking more care of yourself.” He paces back and forth a little. “If we must face the truth then I am starting to wonder whether Rika has somehow been fixated on you for _years”-_ MC wonders if he is right and whether or not her mother would have gone on to say just how much Rika had seemed obsessed with her-“If your mother died because she felt she had no other choice and as if it was the _only_ way she could protect you.” He seems to be going down the same line of thought as she had just been. “That is what I _want_ to believe. That there is no other reason that she would have left you for. But she should have gone to my father all the same,” he says, “He would have helped her. Don’t _ever_ feel like you cannot talk to me. I don’t _care_ what is going on between us at the time or how you _believe_ that it might affect things or make them worse somehow. If you _ever_ find yourself in a similar situation…but I will do everything to ensure that you do not,” he lets out a breath now as he tells her. “We will have to get the security detail sorted for you as a matter of priority. They will look through your mail. Whatever _is_ the truth here you will never have to go through it yourself. Thank God.” There is a heavy expression on his face now as he pulls her close now and fists a hand through her hair. She curves her arm around his back, stroking at it soothingly with her fingers. He breathes her in for a moment, smelling her apple and honeysuckle scent. “I wonder if your mother was trying to buy you, and possibly _us_ to a point, more time with her suicide? She _knew_ that Rika was unhappy with our friendship,” he begins to explain now without her even having to ask him to. “She’d _begun_ to see such a thing”-she grips onto him more firmly when he pauses-“This _other_ side to Rika, this _darker_ side. She was fearful, I think, as to what she might do to you and now _I_ am the same. I would _never_ have thought-if Rika had still been at school when you joined the RFA then I would have trusted you with her and left you alone in a room together without even _knowing”-_ he swallows roughly and she makes some soothing noises in turn. “I never would have believed that I would have to defend you from a friend. That is _why_ your security detail is one of the utmost importance whoever we are around. I must ensure that Rika can never touch you.” He pauses to think for a moment. “Maybe the truth is that your mother _believed_ that her death would separate us and help to cool some of Rika’s feelings for a time, allowing us to be in more of a position where we know what we want and that is each other? She was relying on her understanding of _you,_ in particular, to ensure that we would not be re-united for some time, but that, and due to my persistence, we would be eventually.” He looks at her now as if to say that their separation _had_ been _worth_ it if that is the case and she nods, muddling over everything that he has just said and thinking that it sounds like a reasonable explanation. 

“Do you think that she ever hurt V?” MC asks when she stumbles upon the possibility in her mind. 

“I would like to tell you, _‘No,’_ that I don’t think she could _ever_ do such a thing as to hurt my best friend, but I would _never_ have thought that this side of her could even exist.” He looks pained for a moment and she rubs at his arm soothingly. “I never thought that she could think about harming anyone and possibly be so manipulative too, so I cannot be so sure about that. What _is_ clear is that the problems she has been having have gone on for longer than any of us realized. Maybe I will have to talk to V about it all?”

“Perhaps you could ask him about it at the party, unless you think that he _intends_ to bring Rika with him?” she suggests. 

“I do not think he believes her to be up for the thing and I shall _certainly_ be recommending caution if I hear anything to the contrary and suggest that you do not go yourself.” She opens her mouth. “I shall have to get you that security detail fixed up as soon as possible,” he interprets her look as one that means she _will_ be going to the party no matter what and how _little_ she has contributed to it. “In the mean time I would appreciate it if you could stay inside here and _not,_ under any circumstances, be thinking of confronting Rika at the party without security and myself being present”-

“I _would_ like to talk to her,” MC confesses. _“Not_ to be angry if what we think might be true is and she threatened to harm me or anything”-Jumin pales again-“But if she holds the missing pieces surrounding my mother’s death then”- 

“I _know_ Princess,” Jumin interrupts her and rubs at his forehead tiredly, “But you must not do anything silly merely to get answers. Promise me you won’t? I cannot have her harming you. I don't want _anything_ to harm you.” He lowers his hand. 

“What about tomorrow though?” she evades his question. “Are you _still_ going to do the statement after all of this? Maybe we could come up with something different?” 

He looks at her, knowing that she is caring for him just as he is trying to do for her. “I _will_ be doing the statement.” He pecks her on the forehead. “But perhaps _you”-_

“I'm coming,” is her immediate response even _before_ he’s finished talking. 

He sighs. “In that case then you should get some rest.” He steers her back into the cosy living room now, but it takes her a _very_ long time to get to sleep and there are times where she cries and punches at the settee bed as her mind keeps going back over it all. Her mother. Rika. Jumin. Her mother. Rika. Jumin. Her mother. Rika. _Ju-_

* 

When she next awakes it is to find that it is getting darker in the room and that Jumin had shaken her into a conscious state. “You have been sleeping for several hours,” he informs her, before he goes off on a tangent: “I heard something before that apparently beautiful women sleep longer than men and this has proved it for me I think. Your sleepy eyes look very cute. When you were asleep I found myself wondering if I kissed you would you wake up?” That is enough to make her blush and Jumin fidgets with his cuff for a moment, before he lifts his face to meet hers once more. “I chose to wake you up by other means in the end though because it occurred to me that you have not eaten. Elizabeth the 3rd was also sleeping upon your chest. I worried it might have been uncomfortable for you.”

“Oh, I'm fine,” she says now. The only evidence that Elizabeth the 3rd has been sleeping on her chest are a few white cat hairs. Their owner is now watching them dubiously from just beyond the settee bed. Jumin looks at MC knowingly again. “How are _you_ doing?” MC realizes that her own throat is dry and sore as she pushes herself up into a sitting position. 

“One of the staff members has made us dinner. You should come and eat, before it gets cold,” Jumin chooses to ignore her question-they both seem to prefer focusing on the other rather than their _own_ thoughts about it all-and MC takes that to mean that he’s still suffering from what they have learnt. 

She follows him dutifully to the kitchen and Elizabeth the 3rd also has some more food at the same time. Jumin has already eaten however, and so, after guiding them both there he bows his head and leaves them for a short time. MC hopes that he will be as honest as he had managed to be with her earlier and that he won’t start pulling away from her. They need to communicate if they are going to get through all of this, especially if he is still going through with announcing the loss of his inheritance. She helps herself to some fish, pasta, salad and bread, whilst she opts for water instead of wine. Jumin returns, to her delight, towards the end of the meal and sheepishly makes eye contact with her. She offers him a bright and encouraging smile in return and he sits down opposite her until she is finished.  
Once she is done all three of them make their way into the cosy living room. Jumin has started a fire in the grate and MC feels pleased that he had not simply been avoiding her before and feels a renewed hope about the situation. 

“I hope you do not mind.” He rakes a hand through his hair now and looks at the floor. “I was trying to work out a way to ask you at dinner, _but…”_ Perhaps he _had_ been avoiding her? “Unlike last night when I stayed up I-I would like to make good on my intentions to be beside you tonight. It’s only after what you re-called before…I don’t want to leave you alone for the whole night.” He pinkens as he looks back up at her. 

“I don’t think that Rika will find us here Jumin, but I don’t want to be _away_ from you either. In fact I was hoping we could talk some more.” Her heart thumps louder at what he has said and what _she_ just has. 

“All right,” he says without protest.

They draw the blankets back and take turns changing in Jumin’s room, before they get underneath them together. She in soft pink coloured pyjamas, he in grey and white stripy ones. 

When they are turned to one another, Jumin’s hand protectively burning upon her hip and Elizabeth the 3rd curled up in between their feet, but on top of the blanket Jumin asks MC softly, “Have you thought any further of what we read and what you remembered?” 

“Kind of. I don’t really know how I feel about it.”

“I am the same,” he chuckles in spite of himself. He closes his eyes for a long few seconds and she can tell just how exhausted he is in that moment. He blinks twice, before he opens them properly again. “Are you-Are you _angry_ with Rika?” he wonders. “You’d have every right to be. If what we think is true then essentially she-she pushed your mother into thinking that she had no other choice, _but_ to”- 

“A little,” she confesses, trying to be light, but some of her mixed-up emotions come to the fore nonetheless. “I'm trying to be understanding. I _know_ Rika was probably as trapped as my mother felt she was in some sense, but I”- she struggles to tell Jumin that she might not be able to forgive her. He sees that she’s upset though and he strokes at her arm reassuringly. “Do you think that Rika-Do you think she _knew_ that her behaviour would make my mother do that? I know it doesn't change the end result, _but..._ you know Rika better than I do and I don't want to think that she did it deliberately, but all of this-going from what we think so far-it sounds as if it has been almost _planned_ over the years. I can't help but think that even if I don't want to. That if the incident outside the orphanage happened spontaneously then the rest of it didn’t. I just want to hope that she’d be _horrified_ if she knew what it had led to, that for _your_ sake if nothing else there is some decency left inside of her”- 

_“But?”_ Jumin asks her gently, touched by her thoughts of him, though his eyes glimmer like a cat’s in the dark as he awaits her answer. 

“I'm not sure if I _can_ believe that or if I _can_ forgive her, not when the largest sense I have of her is from the letters, not even when it is measured up against what I have heard and what people have told me. Maybe it would make a difference if _you_ told me something about her?”

“I'm not sure if I can help you there Princess.” He looks away from her. “Not when I keep wondering if _I_ could have done something to prevent all of this. Maybe _I_ am not the right person to talk of Rika? To talk of _anyone_ in fact? I regret enough that I suggested that Rika would be the best person to run the RFA in the first place, that I had _that_ much faith in her, that much _belief”-_

She begins to shake her head and when her pyjamas and the blanket rustle his eyes go up to meet hers timidly again. “There was nothing you could have done. Nothing you did wrong. Nothing you should have done differently.” Elizabeth the 3rd makes a noise of disapproval when MC’s feet accidentally knock into her and Jumin laughs for one watery moment, before he grows more serious again. 

“But _I_ was the link,” he pushes to inform her now, “If I am right that Rika instigated those feelings in your mother then I _saw_ Rika at school. I was _living_ in the same apartment as your mother back at that point. If I had noticed something then maybe none of this would have ever happened”-

“They were _both_ good at hiding things,” she tells him a little desperately now, “And as far as we know V never saw anything either”-

“Yes, _why_ was that?” Jumin interrupts her.

“It could be that he’s been hiding things too,” MC glosses over the words quickly, not wanting him to doubt his other friend too when there has already been a big enough shock about the other one today, but knowing that he’ll see through her if she doesn’t mention it. “If he _genuinely_ doesn’t know though then he, like we weren’t sure of earlier, might be in danger too and that’s the bigger point here Jumin.” She tries to make him see such a thing. “We need to _help_ him if we can.” 

“I will have to try and mention it on the night of the party,” he goes on with a gloomy sort of determination about his tone. “There is another thing that I cannot understand, however, and this is one thing about Rika that I _can_ tell you,” Jumin tells her, more conversationally now, “Rika always _encouraged_ me to spend more time with others. She was forever going on about how I should let more people into my life.” She can tell that he’d found it endearing as well as annoying. “That is why she gave me Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin sounds emotional now, “I think she believed that, that might be a start and I might begin to open up to more people because of her. I cannot fathom _why,_ when I was beginning to spend more time with you, it would upset her so much? If anything then she should have been pleased, _happy…”_ he sounds heartbroken now and MC holds him close to her for a moment. “But that is one reason why I can believe your mother’s words, _and,_ having known her a little bit myself I do not think that your mother would have lied about this _or_ had any reason to do so.” 

“I don’t either, but maybe the truth just is that Rika was not on top of her mental illness as much as it appears she was at that time? Maybe when it came down to it she was able to say those things and to _know_ that they were the right thing to say, but not able to be _genuinely_ happy when you started spending more time with me?”

“There was a darkness inside her?”

_“Yes,_ I believe so.” MC swallows now, before she goes on more determinedly and they are silent for a moment.

“I have prepared a lunchtime statement outside the C & R building,” Jumin finally informs her. “I will tell the world how much I love you, though I am not sure what else as of yet.” Again he looks awkward and removes her hand from her hair, before he takes it in his instead. 

She is both pleased and anxious about the possibility. “Are you _sure?”_

“You are changing your mind?”

“No, _but”-_

“I am _going_ to choose you,” Jumin cuts off her rambling and pecks her on top of her head. “We don’t have much time as you’ve said, that is true”-he looks slightly pale about the fact-“But my main priority is making sure that I do the _one_ thing that I'm absolutely sure that I want to. That is choosing you. I urge you to watch me stand outside my father’s building tomorrow and choose you. I don’t care _where_ you do it from. If you are by my side or if you’d prefer to watch from my penthouse with Elizabeth the 3rd. I just want you to know.” His face looks tenderly at her in the light. He rolls her towards him ever so slightly and they share a kiss. 

“Are you”-

_“Yes.”_ He pecks her on the lips fervently now and she has to smile at herself a little. She grins at him rather sheepishly. 

“But giving up on your father’s”-

“There will be _other_ businesses,” he repeats as he has done before, twisting around to nibble at her jaw, before he towers over her and his hand supports the small of her back. She wriggles a little against him. Elizabeth the 3rd makes a sound. “Come and work for me?” he appeals to MC. She lets out a little breath. “After college and I set up my own business and after you’re done with school-you would make a _brilliant_ manager MC, or failing that Human Resources maybe. You can connect with people in a way that I can’t,” he tells her, “You would be _excellent_ at motivating staff. You would be able to contribute to team meetings I know because of all the ideas that you’ve had previously. You wouldn’t be scared to speak up on my behalf _or_ that of your staff either. I can’t think of a more perfect combination and wouldn’t it be nice for us to be together all the time now that we've finally gotten back in touch with one another again?” He moves her so that she’s on top of him. “At least take some business classes and say that you’ll think about it, before you say no,” he urges her, “I couldn't _bear_ for all that potential to go to waste, but if you _really_ don’t want to”- he looks slightly pinched and anxious. 

“I’ll think about it.” She pecks at his nose and then clambers off him, feeling shy and hot at the feel of all his limbs against her. 

He kisses at her forehead happily as she snuggles against him and he puts an arm around her. “Did you forget how I want to get _every_ aspect of our relationship at a hundred per cent, before moving on to the next one?” he teases her and she kisses him roughly, dishing out her _own_ form of punishment. His hands hold onto the skin of her hips, before she swings away from him again. He chuckles lowly in his throat at her behaviour, liking this side of her. _“Besides…”_ he muses regretfully, “I know when the time is ripe for harvest and it isn’t now.” She can see the top of his cheekbones flush in the low light. “There is still so much that needs to be resolved. One of those things is telling the world how much I love you. Call me selfish”-he drapes a thigh over hers now and she squirms slightly, whilst he goes all the redder-“But I want _everyone_ to know that you’re mine and taken, before I go away.” 

“I won’t leave you,” her voice rings out clearly into the dead night. 

Jumin stares at her, withdraws his leg and grasps at her hand. He isn’t as sure and whilst MC falls asleep relatively quickly he is left staring into the night, only taking comfort from the way that the moonlight hits her hair, whilst she snuffles more contentedly beside him.


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for your support. :3

_Flash!_ Jumin’s eyelids flicker. He sees an image of MC and himself moving away from a podium with linked hands, as if he is staring at it from a distance. His brow looks furrowed. MC appears worried. Jumin draws his head back, as if he wants to get away from seeing such an expression upon her face, and he realizes that he has been staring so intently at the square photograph of them that has been splashed down onto one of the media front pages that he’d almost gotten _lost_ inside of it and the memory of it again. 

It is several months since they’d made the statement and Jumin has _unfortunately_ accumulated many such articles about them since that time. The media have not left MC alone and it has been hard for him to look out for her. He’s been away at college in America for a month already and although she has been putting on a brave face throughout any video calls they've made and _trying_ to lift her voice into a tone of jolliness down the phone he can tell that she’s finding it all difficult. That’s _why_ he’s going back to her this weekend. It is not a planned visit. They have not spoken about it-he thinks that she is trying not to ask _when_ he will be visiting just in case it will be a long time away and _also_ because, knowing _her,_ she doesn’t want to sound _too_ needy-but he hopes that it will be a nice surprise for her all the same. He is at the same time missing Elizabeth the 3rd. It has not been the same without either of them. 

He tries to get himself out of his slump now and away from poring back through the newspapers again-he has collected every word just in case any legal action can be taken against the media once he has become more established-by finishing off his packing. Thankfully he doesn’t have to take much since it will only be a short visit. Once he’s done packing he hurries to go off and catch his flight.

Trying to look through the gaps in the dense cloud and finding small sections of different colour other than the mass of white-grey [although the white does of _course_ remind him of Elizabeth the 3rd and he is partial to a bit of grey] once he has boarded and is on his way makes him feel a little better because he is getting closer to MC. Is she able to see the same bit of sky? How is her day going? Has she had lunch yet? He finds himself picking at his own once it arrives and getting lost in his thought of her. 

He is relieved _when,_ after a flight of _over_ thirteen hours, he is able to get off the plane and does so with _far_ more energy than some of the other passengers. He collects his luggage and calls for a taxi to take him to the penthouse. He wonders what he will find when he gets there? Will Elizabeth the 3rd be perched on her favourite chair, whilst MC does a jigsaw puzzle? Will the city lights be beginning to come on behind them? He thinks that would be incredibly cute if he were to witness such a scene. How shocked will they both be to see him? He tries to picture their expressions for the rest of the way. It will be _so_ nice to spend the night next to them again instead of waking up and finding that his body has accommodated for the extra bodies without them being there and even _though_ he has a reasonably large bed all for himself now he has made himself smaller than he needs to be. He wants to breathe in the scent of MC’s hair and remind himself of the apple scent that it has. He wants to be able to nudge at Elizabeth the 3rd with his foot and find himself being reassured by both of their presences. He wants to wrap his arms around them and comfort them too, let them know that he will _always_ be there for them in spite of the distance that is now unfortunately physically between them for most of the time. He wants to hurry up and graduate so that he _never_ has to leave either of their sides ever again. 

When they arrive at the building, which his penthouse is in, however, there is a horde of media outside and Jumin’s heart sinks. He wonders what he has missed. What the headlines have been that day. He curses himself for not having checked, for being so _caught_ up in getting back to them that he’d temporarily, and ever since he’d pushed the papers away, not allowed himself to think too much about the possibility of MC being upset and Elizabeth the 3rd sad because of her reaction to the media. He tells the apprehensive taxi driver who finally seems to have worked out who he is and _where_ he has seen him before to pull up a bit before the chaos. Of _course,_ having spotted the car, the media start running down to it anyway. 

Jumin pays the taxi driver and hurriedly ducks out of the car with his luggage in his hand. He has gotten used to the crowds and the bright lights and he tries to push through it all with his head bowed, trying to ignore their usual questions about how long he believes his relationship with MC will last, if _either_ of them have found anyone else yet, if he is _really_ never going to work for his father again, along with a new one now of whether or not he has come back to break things off with her. Feeling annoyed he tries to keep the worst of them back from him with a hand. It doesn’t really work and as one they ripple like some kind of strange insect towards the main door of the building. There is no security about and Jumin feels both concerned and irritated by the fact. Where is everyone when he needs them? He hopes that MC isn’t too upset about it all and that Elizabeth the 3rd is doing an adequate job of comforting her. Hopefully his presence will cheer her up as well. 

He tries to get to the door. He just about makes it and is about to walk through into the lobby and _hopefully_ leave the media all behind when a familiar female voice calls out to him. 

_“Jumin!”_

He looks to the side without being able to help it. _Rika_ is there! She looks just as he remembers her and as if she hasn’t been ill at all. Her eyes are friendly and they almost _glow_ when they see him. She is beautiful. The tip of her tongue almost pokes playfully out of the side of her mouth. He wants to tell her about MC. About the _happiness_ that he will now hopefully have the chance to have. He feels _sure_ that she will understand looking the way that she does and now she is no longer obviously as ill as she has been. But then he spots _two_ other people and he remembers what MC and he had found out about Rika and the possibility they had theorized about it all. He starts to feel cold and as if something is very wrong. For V is there, taking photos of him and his father is also present. Chairman Han looks at him most seriously. 

“V, capture every side of him!” Rika urges her boyfriend in a childlike way and as if she is _somehow_ head of the media herself. 

Jumin does not understand. “Why are you doing all of this?” he asks her, already folding invisible arms across his heart and guarding it from her. The members of the _actual_ media seem to fade into the background. 

“I need to see what you look like today, only _then_ will I be able to save you”-

“Why today?” Again that sense of foreboding grows within Jumin, but he tries to ask the question as indifferently as possible. 

“Now _she_ is gone”-something knocks the invisible arms away and pierces at Jumin’s heart as he realizes who, _‘she,’_ might be-“Copycat suicide.” Rika grins evilly. “Maybe you will _finally_ realize what is the right thing and _who_ are the right people for you to be around.” 

Jumin has goosebumps all over him and it takes him a moment to react. He is so surprised by the sudden change in one of his oldest friends and what she has just told him, surprised by the fact that she seems to know _more_ than the actual members of the media who had been treating the day as if it had been a fairly normal one in relation to MC and Jumin’s relationship. He curses himself inwardly for his naivety as the thought that Rika has done it again and that she must have had a hand in it comes to him and he is running. Running and skidding across the lobby towards the elevator. Rika’s laugh follows him the entire way as does the clicking of V’s camera. The doors of the elevator close in front of him as it begins to ascend without him in it. Jumin presses the button to get it to come back down as quickly as possible, but it seems to take forever. Sweat glistens upon his forehead. This _cannot_ be happening again. Different building, but same thing. He _cannot_ have left MC alone to cope with all of this. She _cannot_ have left him. He bangs at the button. Finally the elevator descends and opens. He throws himself inside of it, stops anyone else from entering-he hears many grumbled complaints as he does such a thing-and presses frantically at the button for his penthouse. He gets to the small, and usually _guarded_ hallway, before the penthouse and then to the penthouse itself. Elizabeth the 3rd comes running to him as if he is her saviour. He mumbles a greeting in an absent-minded fashion to her. His eyes look frantically around for MC. He finds her. The breath in his body leaves him as he sees her hanging just in front of the window, just like her mother had been and it has _actually_ happened again and he can hardly breathe and-

“Jumin!” He is sure that he hears her voice. _“Jumin!_ It is just a dream! It is not real! _Wake_ up!” He sits up on the settee bed with a shuddery breath now. His grey eyes go wide when he looks around and sees that MC is sat up too and that she is staring at him worriedly. Her eyes soften when he looks at her. She gently grasps hold of his arm and he struggles to believe that her touch can be real. 

“It was just a dream?” he croaks. “You are _not-?”_ She does not know what he means, but shakes her head anyway, sensing that, that is the right thing to do. _“Elizabeth the 3rd?”_ he questions her urgently. She gestures with a small smile, hoping to please him, to where the cat is curled up at the bottom of the makeshift bed and sleeping soundly in between their feet. He lets out a big breath, looks between them once more, as if either one of them might disappear the moment that he exchanges their vision for the other. When neither one of them fade he finally convinces himself that this _must_ be reality, that they are still at the cherry farm, that they have not even left it yet, that the statement hasn’t been done, _and,_ having been given this second chance to change the outcome of the future, he flings himself into MC’s arms. She makes a little squeak and then cradles his hips with her hands as he pushes against her and clings onto her more tightly. He bows his head down against hers and she can feel his tears trailing their way down against her skin and hair. 

“It’s okay,” she tries to reassure him, “It’s not real. I’ve got you.” 

He laughs in a watery fashion at that, before he tells her more sombrely, “I thought that you had done the same thing as your mother”- MC’s breath catches in her chest at that point and Jumin slowly draws his head back, so that he can look at her. His eyes are still damp with his tears. “I thought-I thought we’d _already_ done the statement. I came back after a month of being away at college, _all_ the media was outside. My father was there too. Rika was making V take photographs of me. She-I’d _never_ seen her that way before MC,” he announces in a hushed tone now as if he isn’t sure _what_ to make of it all. She wraps her arms around him and pecks at his nose. She _knows_ that what they’d found out earlier has come out in his nightmare, all the thoughts that he has surely been trying to push down throughout the entire day, his worst nightmare… 

“I will never do that to you,” she promises when she realizes that he is still looking at her desperately. “No matter _how_ bad it gets.” 

“You swear?” 

“I promise,” MC says now and when Elizabeth the 3rd makes a sound too and he chuckles she adds in a watery fashion, “Elizabeth the 3rd vows it as well.” He smiles, swallows and nods, seemingly more at ease about the thing and she slowly eases them both down back onto the settee bed. Jumin grunts and _only_ seems to be completely satisfied when their bodies are thoroughly tangled together and it would be hard to tell, if you looked beneath the blanket, where one ended and the other began. She glances at him reassuringly and strokes at his hair. He opens his mouth now, looking as if he might be about to apologize for all the fuss that he has just caused. Her heart is still beating all too fast because of the way that his eyelids had flickered and how he’d seemed to be in pain and how _helpless_ she’d felt until he’d finally woken up. A yawn comes out of his mouth instead, however, and he looks at her sheepishly. “Shh. _Shh,”_ she tries to soothe him. He doesn’t have to speak. Doesn't _have_ to explain himself. She’d be terrified if _she’d_ had such a dream about him after all. A few more tears trickle out of him, before his limbs soften and relax. She pecks at his hair. They fall asleep with their bodies all bunched together and Elizabeth the 3rd contented at the end of the bed. 

* 

When MC next awakes daylight has already broken, Jumin is fully dressed in a suit and tie and babbling something as he kneels on the settee bed beside her and Elizabeth the 3rd has gone off somewhere. She sits up, rubbing at her eyes. MC catches sight of their bags by the living room door, ready to go. But shouldn't they _already_ have left? The thought jolts her. She peers at the clock on the mantelpiece. It is just gone eight in the morning. She’s sleeping more of late than she ever has done-her body catching up it seems with all those early mornings and late nights at school. But if Jumin has a lunchtime appointment outside the C & R building then they really _will_ be pushing it. Had they both overslept because of the nightmare that Jumin had, had? 

“Maybe you should stay here?” Jumin continues to go on at her when he sees that she is awake. He looks wide-eyed and flustered. His cold, clammy hand touches at the back of hers. “Stay here where you will be safe and no one will be able to get to you”-

“Jumin is this because of the nightmare?” she asks him. She can _tell_ that he is still affected by it. 

Their fingers still close together he bows his head for a moment and fidgets with the settee. He doesn’t seem to know what to say to her. Finally he meets her eyes and murmurs stoically, “I _know_ what you said last night, but we still have to take counter-measures to make _sure_ that it does not happen. The security detail for one thing. I _can’t_ let you go through that you see. Where you get into a place where you find that, that is the _only_ solution for you. I never even want it to come on to the _page_ of possible solutions. That is _not_ going to happen to us like it did to my father and your mother. You can stay here. _I’ll_ make the announcement, but you’ll be safe from it here. You can”-

_“Jumin,”_ she interrupts him forcefully now, slapping her hand over his and waking him up a little further. His face had grown _more_ manic, whilst he had spoken and now it is only inches away from hers. “If you are going to go through with the thing, if it is what you _genuinely_ want to do then I am going to be by your side. There is no need to worry”- 

“I don’t think you get how _awful_ seeing your mother like that was for me. How finding out about what we did yesterday changed everything again.” She bows her head. She’d like to think that she gets it more than he realizes she does. “I don’t mean-Of _course_ I know that both things have affected you Princess”-

“Yes”-

“I just can’t go through that again. Not with you. _I-_ I think I need to show you something.” He takes out his mobile phone from his pocket now, taps through to the right section and makes as if he is going to hand it to her, but when her hand uncertainly curls around it he meets her eyes and tells her, “These are text messages that I-that I composed and thought of sending to you when we weren’t talking. I would have written them down or done letters for you because technology doesn’t have the same effect, but I didn’t think it was appropriate and I was _worried_ that someone would find them.” He pinkens a little bit now. “In any case I used to read through all of our old texts when I had a bad day or I-I missed you particularly.” He avoids her eyes now and she looks at him sympathetically.

“Father deleted my ones,” she tells him, and in an attempt to keep him fussing about the thing and to get _her_ to stop thinking about it herself she slides the phone out of his grasp. That does not prevent him from giving her a stricken glance, however, and he sits back on his knees more. 

“I cannot _imagine”-_

“I wish _I_ hadn’t had to either. He did it the night Mother died.” Not wanting to think about it she turns her attention to his phone: _‘I missed you today.’_ Something inside her softens.   
_‘I wish things could have just stayed as they had been back then. They weren’t perfect, but they were better than this. I wish you could have stayed exactly as you had been. You seem so lonely now.’  
‘I have had a good idea.’   
‘Why won’t you join the RFA?’   
‘Why are you being so stubborn MC? What is it all for?’   
‘God I need wine…wine.’_

When she finally looks up from the ream of messages that he’d been so compelled to tap out, she gets it all the more and _knows_ how much he would not be able to bear go through that again or worse. She cups at his cheeks with her hands. “We are in this together,” she tells him now. “I will _not_ let the media get to me,” she says in a voice so firm that it makes his heart surge like the tide. “I will have any letters I get screened just like my mother did and you suggested I shall, but I will _not_ make the same mistake. If there is anything I feel concerned about then I will tell you about it and you must do the same with me. The _only_ way that we are going to get through this is if we are on the same page and talking about it together.”

“But _I”-_ He feels worried about the slimmest chance of losing her. 

“You _won’t_ be leaving me on my own by going to college,” she reads him and he lets out a breath. “You will just be doing what you need to do and _I_ will be doing the same. I’ll have school to finish and I’ll decide what I want to do about your offer”-her lip twitches into a smile-“Before I work out what to do post my school life. I will have Jaehee to talk to as well and all the other members of the RFA.” Jumin looks almost envious and jealous of their friends now, but she adds, “You and I will talk as often as we can. We will be _all_ right Jumin, but if we are going to do this today then we need to get going now.”

He stares at her for one long moment, before some of the previous panic that had been on his face fades. “How do you _always_ know what to say?” He pecks her on the lips. 

“Because I want this as much as you do.” She tugs at his hair. 

He pulls back in relief. “I’ll get Elizabeth the 3rd.” He hurries out of the room. 

She quickly does the same to get changed and then discovers, much to her delight, that one of the staff members has made up a healthy breakfast for her of maize, natural yoghurt and bits of chopped fruit and put it all into a tub for her. They have even left a _spoon_ on top of the thing. She can eat it on the way there. She grabs at it just as the door opens and Driver Kim comes inside to collect their luggage. Jumin emerges from the other direction, holding Elizabeth the 3rd in her carrier. There is _already_ a kind of familiarity about this, which pleases both Jumin and MC. Jumin speculates that it had been the young _boy_ who had come to the door only yesterday who had made the cereal mix for her. MC tells him that she feels _sure_ that it was someone older. They head out to the car. 

“When I am older and have my own business,” Jumin remarks now as they all squeeze in, “I will have a van to travel in. That way there will be _more_ than enough room for Elizabeth the 3rd, you and any children that we might have”-the pair of them blush-“Without any question about it.” MC is a little nervous about the future he is painting for them when everything seems like it will be so hard to achieve and that it might be washed away, before it has even started, but glad that he is looking towards a goal and _forwards_ rather than allowing himself to worry too much about the present or the past in that moment. She starts to eat her breakfast and Jumin watches and takes in what she seems to like about it most of all, making a mental note to himself about the things she does, before he allows Elizabeth the 3rd out of the carrier once she is finished and they are more on their way again. He begins to read some of what he has prepared for in his statement to her and she makes a couple of suggestions, but other than that it sounds fine. “I think we should check on how the others are doing,” Jumin tells her after they’re done with the thing, “Maybe tell them a little of what we are going to announce if that is agreeable to you? I’d like to inform them of your mother”-he looks at her meaningfully now, whilst Driver Kim perfects the art of being invisible in the front of the car-“Before they can find out through the statement itself. Though we won’t tell them about the other thing yet of course.” She _knows_ that he means about Rika and nods. That is _not_ a bombshell to drop on them when they are far away and obviously it is something that should be discussed with V first as well. She thinks that telling them the semi-truth about her mother, which Jaehee is already aware of, will allow the members of the RFA to concentrate more _solely_ on Jumin’s change of direction in his career, which she approves of and hopes that they will support him, for he is making a great sacrifice for her and wants them to know that, _especially_ considering what they have said about him previously. Jumin takes out his phone. MC shifts across a bit, so that she can look at it too, _but-_ “You should log on to the messenger from your _own_ phone, Princess,” he says to her, “You need to start getting used to the thing. I would _also_ be appreciative if you were to add my number to speed dial.” 

“I’ve already done the speed dial thing,” she smiles at him now, “I added you there when you gave me your number again.” Jumin looks at her approvingly. 

Fishing out her phone she boots it up and clicks onto the messenger. It loads up relatively quickly and she studies the different sections of it. Links to profile pages of every member of the RFA can be clicked through at the top. Hers is black in that moment and she is encouraged to add a photo by a pop-up box, which she declines to do for the time being. Taking a look at Jumin’s she is touched to see that he has a photo of her sleeping with Elizabeth the 3rd there, even if it _is_ a little blurry and it reminds her now of all the photos that he’d used to send to her when he’d been worried about Elizabeth the 3rd’s weight. She smiles. 

“When did you take it?” She tilts her phone to show him the image. 

“The first night,” he says, his voice laced with affection, “Though I might change it because I want to be the _only_ one to see you that way. Zen seems to be most jealous and annoyed that I took it, which I like.” He grins now and she blushes at the handsome and unusually carefree smile that is upon his face. 

“Don’t be _too_ mean,” she warns him, quickly turning her gaze in order to take a look at Zen’s profile page. She’s sure that she hears Jumin muttering something about how he hasn’t even _started,_ but chooses to ignore it. A selfie of Zen is the photo on Zen’s page and the message beneath it says that Jumin shouldn't be taking photos of ladies when they sleep. Seven has something about cats and dogs on his, whilst Yoosung’s profile is dedicated _entirely_ to the new game that he has been playing. MC is moved when she moves onto Jaehee’s and sees how she has got a photo of them there together as children and the words: _‘Always there for you.’_ Seeing that and the others profiles as well makes her feel guilty that she hasn’t been able to be there for them as much as she would have _liked_ to have been _or_ for the preparation of the party. 

Noticing the more downbeat expression that is upon her face Jumin comments, “I gathered whilst talking to the others that Jaehee was not the _most_ approving of you going off with Zen either?” MC glances at him nervously now, hoping that he won’t inflict his _own_ opinion about the thing on her again. He regards her silence as confirmation of her words. “I _wish_ you had told me Princess.” 

“Sorry,” she tells him. 

Jumin shakes his head. “I understand why you didn’t and _besides_ -there was a lot going on. If it is any consolation to you, however, then I believe that she was _just_ trying to gather the water to her own mill as they say.” She smiles a little at that. “What is so amusing?” he asks her. 

“I like the things you pick up on,” she murmurs to him a little shyly. 

His grin grows, before he becomes more serious again. _“Despite_ her jealousy about Zen and which she has no reason for”-MC nods in agreement at this and it makes Jumin feel more reassured-“She wants to be there for you. She just doesn’t know _how_ she can be. Maybe you could help her to see the way?” She nods again as if she might try and he takes _another_ fond look of the photo that is on Jaehee’s profile. He will _have_ to get MC to make a copy of it because he would like to have it. He would like to have _all_ the photos of her. Elizabeth the 3rd shifts in her spot in between them and clambers onto Jumin’s lap, before she settles herself there. His hand greets her roughly. MC nods determinedly at his words, wanting to make up with her best friend and put all of this behind them. “There is a gallery over there,” Jumin can’t help but point out to MC once she has gone back to the main page again. “You can add your _own_ photos to it if you like.” He is a little _too_ eager about the prospect of such a thing and MC glances at him knowingly. He blushes lightly, but smiles at the same time. “You have a problem?” He shrugs. “All I am saying is that I would like _less_ of Zen’s selfies there, that is all.” 

“Is it now?” She bumps shoulders with him. 

He kisses her on the cheek. “Do not tempt me Princess,” he whispers breathily into her ear so that only _she_ can hear and her heart does an odd and jerky little dance inside of her chest, whilst heat flares to her face when Driver Kim clears his throat a little. 

“Does _your_ app have all these things on it?” she asks her boyfriend loudly, gesturing at the e-mail, text and call features. 

“All but the e-mail,” he confirms, knowing that she is changing the subject deliberately and allowing her to do such a thing. “I wouldn’t worry about that however. I was talking to Seven yesterday in between getting today arranged and he confirmed that Jaehee’s been carrying on her work, as she was doing previously in responding to the e-mails and that Yoosung and he are on top of the tables and decorations and such that will need to be brought in for the party, whilst Zen confirmed with the catering yesterday that everything is on track. You do not need to worry Princess.”

“I just feel so _bad,”_ she murmurs, stretching that last word out, “I was meant to be helping everyone, that’s why they all wanted me to join in the first place and I haven’t ended doing much of anything.”

“You have done _more_ than enough for me,” Jumin informs her softly, but this time in a voice that is loud enough for Driver Kim to hear and the man looks approvingly at them both through the mirror. “There was _also_ those talks that you had with Yoosung and Zen. In any case,” Jumin waves a hand, not liking to think of her talking to the other two all that much, “Everyone understands. They all believe that your welfare is the most important thing and are fully aware that you will work hard to support future parties.” MC wonders if _Jumin_ has made them _aware_ of that fact? 

“Of _course_ I will,” she nods her head vigorously and Jumin finds her incredibly cute in that moment. 

“I will log onto the chatroom.” He has to look away from her now or he _will_ end up kissing her for a lot of the time until they get back to the city and although the thought of everyone seeing her with swollen lips and shortly knowing that _he_ had been the cause of them doesn’t exactly put him off-nor does practicing and getting closer to being a step further along in their relationship-her being disapproving of him _does_ and he knows that she’d rather just focus on what needs to be done that day. “Come in when you are ready to.”

She does so instantly after him. Two messages come up in sequence saying that they are both logged in. Seven and Yoosung are already in the chatroom. They have largely been talking about Jumin and MC. Yoosung thinks that they are lucky to be out of school, though Seven points out that Jumin would not be there any more anyway, or at _least_ not doing any work. Yoosung is saying how he doesn’t envy the amount of work that MC will _surely_ have to catch up on when they get back. MC isn’t looking forward to such a thing either, but it has been worth it and to prove such a thing just in case Jumin is in any kind of doubt about it all she finds his free hand on the seat and tangles it with her own. Elizabeth the 3rd purrs contentedly on Jumin’s lap. 

Yoosung: _Oh!_ MC and Jumin! Is it _really_ you?

Seven: Look who’s back. Back again-

Seven: Jumin’s back. Brought a friend.

MC looks at Jumin nervously. 

“Shall we tell them?” he is firm, but gentle with her. She nods, but when he makes to type such a thing she stops him with her hand. He glances at her curiously. 

“Let me.”

He bows his head courteously at her. 

MC: A bit _more_ than a friend actually. We’re together now. Romantically I mean. She feels both a little awkward and triumphant getting to type that. It is something that she had never dared to _think_ would happen. Though, keep it amongst yourselves for a little while, won’t you? she adds. We won’t ask you to do it for long. Jumin looks at her approvingly. 

Yoosung: OMG!! Seriously?! Jumin’s not a forever-alone any more? 

MC looks at Jumin now. 

“I have _no_ idea what he means,” he looks embarrassed and his finger plucks at the seat a little. 

Yoosung: I was starting to get worried. 

Seven: Congrats, yo. 

Jumin: Thank you Seven. _‘Forever-alone,’_ Yoosung? Is that a new commoner phrase that I need to be aware of? 

MC: _Jumin…_

Jumin: Hm? Oh yes, he recalls, My Princess doesn’t like it when I act as if I'm above everyone else.

Yoosung: We've been telling you that for _ages_ and you never listened to us! Anyway, before MC came along I was beginning to think that you were turning into one of those crazy old cat ladies. 

Yoosung: Though not the lady part. 

Seven: Unless you’ve got something to tell us?

Jumin: …

MC: …

Seven: Anyway, nice to see that you two are acting like the old married couple that you are. 

Yoosung: But Seven they’re not married…

Seven: _Yet._ We heard that a certain Jumin Han is making some kind of announcement today. Do I hear the sound of wedding bells in the distance?

Jumin pales and digs his back into his seat, looking awkward and uncomfortable. His eyes slide nervously to MC. He tries to smile at her, but can’t quite make it. His hands feel sweaty around his phone. 

“I _know_ that we’re not ready for that,” MC tells him quickly and he feels _relieved_ that she’s not expecting anything _else_ at the end of his announcement, but he wishes that it _could_ actually be about that. That they’d _already_ reached that stage. That it could simply _focus_ on MC. That the difficult part was over with and they could get married and he could whisk her off somewhere again, only this time they’d be able to focus on nothing and no one else but one another for a week or so, as it would be their honeymoon and then when they got back he could set up a business, which they would run together. That isn’t the future they've currently got however. 

MC: Jumin and I fully _intend_ to be married one day. He looks at her gratefully. In black and white like that it gives him _all_ the more hope and courage to do what he _needs_ on that day. But we’re going to talk about some other things right now. 

Yoosung: OMG! Things are _that_ serious between you guys already? I can’t believe that Zen is missing out on this! 

MC: I'm glad that he _is_ missing this, MC manages to respond dryly, which makes Jumin chuckle and squeeze at her knee affectionately. She looks at him fondly and leans forwards to peck him on the lips. He grasps at her hair. Threading his fingers through it until they can land on the edge of her jaw and the side of her neck, which he can manipulate into the perfect angle. 

Seven: What _are_ you going to be talking about today then? He sounds off-hand, but curious. 

A minute passes and then another as Jumin finds MC’s lips again each time that she manages to wriggle away from him, tilting her head easily to re-join their lips. 

Seven: Um, I get the feeling that something serious is going down. 

Yoosung: MC? Jumin? Did something happen? 

Seven: I didn’t actually mean anything _that_ serious. I just meant-

Yoosung: Urgh Seven, are you tricking me again? What’s going on?

MC: Um, sorry about that. We had a bad connection for a second here. Jumin chuckles approvingly at that and the hairs lift on the back of her neck at the sound, before the skin there tingles at the brushing touch he gives her. He withdraws, studying his _own_ phone.

Going along with her teasingly he puts: Maybe you should investigate it Seven? I would not want MC to have to suffer poor service. She bumps shoulders with him. He looks at her wickedly with eyes that sparkle. 

MC: You don’t have to though. 

Seven: _Why?_ Because there _wasn’t_ a bad connection, only a good, distracting one somewhere else? MC and Jumin both blush profusely at that and neither one of them can look at one another. Jumin clears his throat and adjusts his suit jacket.

Yoosung: Seven, what do you- _argh!_ Please tell me you are not talking about stuff like that? I am too young to imagine anyone kissing with the exception of my girlfriend and me, he protests.

Seven: Yoosung’s talking about his imaginary girlfriend again. 

Yoosung: At least _mine’s_ not made up of binary numbers!

Seven: Don’t talk about 606 in that way! How dare you! So, what’s going on today MC?

Yoosung: Yeah, what are you going to be announcing?

MC: _Well_ -she looks at Jumin now who supportively takes her free hand in his-We’re going to be talking a little about our relationship, which is why _you_ two don’t have to worry about keeping your mouths shut for very long. She tries to keep the tone of her message light _despite_ the fluttering nerves that she is starting to feel. And as part of that and talking about how-how we became closer really and responding to the press attention that we've already had, we want to confess something, which will make the motivation for our _main_ announcement hopefully a little easier to understand.

Yoosung: _Um…_

Seven: You just spoke in a riddle MC. 

Yoosung: Kind of sounded like when Seven goes more technical on us… _talking_ about technical I am actually weirdly kind of happy that LOLOL is in server maintenance right now.

Seven: _Wow!_ You would not believe how lucky you are to hear _that._ All we have heard from Yoosung recently has been about LOLOL!

Yoosung: Yeah, yeah. It hasn’t been _that_ bad, has it? So what are you announcing? Yoosung adds quickly, before Seven can counter with anything. I want to go and check if LOLOL is back up in a moment.

Seven: Told you, he types.

MC looks at Jumin helplessly, wondering _how_ she can go on without ruining his main statement, _but-_

_Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom._ MC releases a little nervous breath and glances at Jumin. 

“It’s going to be fine Princess,” he soothes, tangling her free hand more tightly with his. “Just be honest and open with her about what you would like and I am here to back you up if she goes on about Zen again.” She nods. 

Jaehee: I _know_ what you might be talking about MC even though I am not sure how it will help or _exactly_ what you’ve got planned. 

Yoosung: You do?

Seven: According to my manual women tell each other everything and they are best friends. Like me and Tom. Tom and I. 

Yoosung: Wait, who’s-No, don’t confuse me Seven!

Jaehee: Yes I do, and you don’t have to tell people if you’re not ready to MC. There might be another way. 

Jumin looks at MC, prompting her to tap out: You’re not _still_ angry with me about Zen, are you Jaehee? Jumin shakes his head a little at her being so defensive and the one to raise the issue of Zen, which is a _clear_ path to trouble in his mind, but it is too late. The message has already been sent. 

Jaehee: I was worried at first, yes I admit. I care about Zen’s career and I thought that you might be overstepping the boundaries as a fan and tarnishing any future reputation he could have. Quashing the _potential_ he has. The focus in the media seems to have moved on to Jumin and you now however. They are treating Zen like an ex-boyfriend of yours, which though I am not keen about is better than it _could_ have been. For whilst you are being treated like a villain by the fans Zen seems to have escaped with his career intact. 

MC: You don’t _care_ what they are saying about me? MC can’t help but feel a little hurt. Jaehee is coming across like she cares more for _Zen_ than her and Jumin, feeling indignant himself makes to type a message of his own, but MC stops him by lowering his phone and shaking her head when he looks at her. Seeing that he has to let things play out between the two girls he rubs his thumb along the side of her hand encouragingly instead and she seems to settle down a little and sink back into her seat. 

Jaehee: Of _course_ I care. Jaehee sounds exasperated now. Why do you _think_ I have the profile photo that I do at the moment? It was to try to get that _exact_ message to you if you ever doubted such a thing. But aside from that and me _trying_ to steer some of the more negative fans of Zen’s away from you I wasn’t sure how I could help. You haven’t exactly been _easy_ to access in the past couple of days. MC feels guiltier. 

“She would just like to help,” Jumin re-iterates, before he adds, “I am angry with her _myself_ for making you feel such a way, but I have to admit that the gut instinct that made you stop me from sending a rude message to her is probably the right one. You will _need_ to rely on her soon after all when I am at college and she might need the same from you.” MC looks at him. “The friendship you have together is a special one. I am able to see that now. You should try and make amends with her.” MC smiles at that and leans across to peck him on the cheek. 

“Thank you,” she murmurs. Jumin nods. 

MC: I'm sorry about that. Its been pretty busy here. I wanted to speak to you in person.

MC: Are you disappointed in me? Her question twists at Jumin’s heart. 

“Don’t hold onto this Princess.” 

MC: The photo you sent of Chairman Han in the newspaper made it _seem_ like you might be. 

Jaehee: …

Jaehee: If I am disappointed then it is _only_ because I care for and admire you so much. 

MC: You _admire_ me? She doesn’t know _why_ anyone would. Jumin kisses her on the cheek swiftly as if to say that he feels the same and is in agreement for once with Jaehee. MC’s skin heats up immediately and she looks at him. 

“Princess, I hope that you will begin to realize the effect that you have on people and just how important you are now.” She blushes. Jumin kisses at the back of her hand and then lowers both of their hands to the seat once more. 

Jaehee: _Yes._ Like me you have had difficulty with your family. I have never said this to you before, but I have _always_ admired the way that instead of being angry with your mother for leaving you with the worst part of your family-MC and Jumin exchange a significant glance at this and MC feels guilty again, for she _had_ felt a little angry with her mother at times-You are still able to love her and that is what you seem to focus on the most.

Jaehee: You also coped admiringly throughout the divorce on the whole and I have _always_ thought that you have an inner strength that I do not possess.

MC: You are strong Jaehee. That much is obvious to her. 

Jaehee: Maybe, she is deliberately light, I am sorry if you feel that I have not been supporting you enough however. 

MC can almost sense Jumin holding his breath now, like all the boys have done for the vast majority of her messages with Jaehee, as he waits for her to reply. 

MC: No, like you said I haven’t exactly made it easy for you. I never _wanted_ to be with Zen though, just to make that clear. Her little finger hooks around Jumin’s now and he feels a squirm of pleasure inside his heart. 

Jaehee: I know. I want you to know that I _do_ support Jumin and you. I’m just worried about the impact it might have. I do not recognize the media’s description of you and if it is bad _now…_

MC: That’s partly what we’re going to try and deal with today, MC tries to counter. She takes a bit of a deep breath now and looks at Jumin. 

“Ready Princess?”

_“Ready,”_ she says determinedly, before she looks back at the screen. 

MC: I want to say to the RFA, _before_ Jumin does so publicly in the statement later on, that my mother did _not_ die from heart failure. It makes her heart skip a beat to type such a thing, but she feels a sense of pleasure from the greater amount of power and control that she has over the situation all the same. Would she be a different kind of person if she’d been allowed to say that from the very beginning? Jumin squeezes supportively at her hand, reminding her that he is there for her, though he can’t help but feel at fault for the role his family has played in the suppression of the truth.

Yoosung: _What?_ How did she die then?

Seven: I wondered if it was true.

Yoosung: You did?

Seven: Sorry Jumin, but with a big company like C & R…

Jumin: That’s all right Seven. 

Yoosung: What are you saying? Am I just _really_ naïve here?

MC: You’re innocent. There’s a difference, she reassures him. 

Yoosung: There _is?_ Yoosung asks. 

Jumin: Cutting to the chase you are right that my father and the company helped cover the _real_ reason behind Chae-Yeong’s death up. It is something that I was never happy about. 

Seven: Do I sense a rebellion in the air? he wonders. 

Jumin: More like righting a very large wrong that I have allowed to continue for _far_ too long. It’s MC’s turn to kiss at the back of _his_ hand now and to tell him with that gesture that it’s okay, that it won’t be for very much longer. Most things, anyway then, will be out in the open. 

MC: My mother committed suicide. She does not know how she’s meant to reveal such a thing other than bluntly. 

Yoosung: OMG! I am so sorry MC!

Seven: Sorry to hear that. 

Jaehee: I have known for a while now, but I appreciate how difficult this must be for you. I want to support you in any way that I can. That goes for _both_ Jumin and you. 

MC: Thank you Jaehee. I _know_ you have taken over what I was meant to do for the party and I am very grateful for it. I’ll try and do more on the next one, I promise. 

Seeing that MC is appearing a little weepy from going back over her mother’s death, as well as _surely_ thinking about what they have now found out and guessed about it in her mind, Jumin sends: I am also grateful for all of your support, but I think it would be best for MC and I to go now. We need to look over the statement. 

They both log out of the chatroom and put their phones aside. “We need to go over the statement?” She glances at him curiously. 

_“No.”_ He shakes his head with a small smile at her. “I only did that so we might get away. I did not want you becoming any _more_ upset.” MC lets out a grateful sigh and rests her head on Jumin’s shoulder. He strokes at her hair. “One day I will make you strawberry pancakes,” he promises her, “We will be at my penthouse. I am not as creative as you, _but”-_

“Light will be flooding into it,” she continues, “Elizabeth the 3rd will be there and we will have _all_ the time in the world for ourselves.”

“It sounds perfect.”

She nods sleepily and dozes for the rest of the way.

A few hours later Jumin jostles her fully awake apologetically, murmuring that though he’d rung ahead and delayed the statement until two o’ clock-they would _never_ have made the earlier scheduled time-they are almost there now and she might like to get herself in the right mindset. She stretches and tries to do such a thing, but it is difficult for her to really because she doesn’t know _how_ the media and the world at large is going to react. In a frenzy probably unfortunately for them, but what _tone_ will their words take? Will they understand what they are doing or be critical? Will they blame her for possibly ruining Jumin’s relationship with his father? Her stomach swoops when the car goes around the corner now and she begins to get a sense of _just_ how many reporters there are outside the C & R building, many with notebooks and others with cameras or camera men. Lights start to flash and questions start being thrown around just at the sight of them even though they are muffled through the glass of the car. It feels like they are on a catwalk. 

“I will have to get you a black umbrella so that the flashes will not hurt your eyes in the future,” Jumin looks quite sorry that he does not have one in that moment and she nods encouragingly to snap him out of his melancholy and to get him to continue. Remember you do not have to say anything,” Jumin tells her, “Both before and after the statement and during the thing. If there _is_ anything that you would like to say then you are _more_ than welcome to go through me.” Speech done he looks at her more tenderly. “Everything will be all right Princess.” 

_“Yes,”_ she tries to reassure herself, “I guess this is just like people say, isn’t it? ‘The first day of the rest of our lives,’” she smiles nervously at him. What if they haven’t considered something or Jumin regrets doing this for the rest of his life? What if it _ruins_ everything in the end? 

He strokes at her hand to stop her from dipping into _too_ much thought. “ ‘The first day of the rest of our lives,’” Jumin repeats, “Yes, I like that. You keep that in mind as well.” He lifts up her hand now and pecks meaningfully at her ring finger, hoping it will be decorated one day. His eyes are on her as she goes red. _“There,”_ he murmurs, “I can definitely do this now that I have your face in my memory.” He squeezes at her hand. The car slows to a stop and the reporters begin to move close and peer in, some even going so far as to tap at the windows as if they are zoo animals. “You would do well to get some tinted windows for this car Driver Kim, we will have to discuss it,” Jumin says disapprovingly. “Elizabeth the 3rd will stay here with you until we get back. Take care of her,” he goes on just as gravely, before he adds more light-heartedly when he sees how MC looks tense, “Some of your unfunny jokes might amuse Elizabeth the 3rd, Driver Kim and she pulls the _most_ beautiful of faces when she is amused.”

Driver Kim eyes him in the mirror, not sure if he is doing the _best_ he could be for MC in that moment, but MC’s lip twitches upward. 

“What he means is that he’s grateful to you for looking after her, whilst we are away and for looking after us the entire trip,” she translates. 

“Thank you Miss.” Driver Kim hopes that she will not be put off by what is about to happen and that she will _try_ and take things in her stride as much as possible. 

A reporter knocks on the window rather forcefully. Jumin frowns when it makes MC jump and it disturbs Elizabeth the 3rd’s slumber enough that she partially gets up and hisses. Knowing that he has lingered for long enough he touches at MC’s hand fleetingly. “Stay in the car until I come and get you Princess.” She nods distractedly. He gets out of the car. The door is barely open for a few seconds, but it is enough for her to hear:

“Where have you been Mr. Han?”

“Is this going to effect your future?”

“What do you make of reports that claim you abducted her?”

“Who is she, Mr. Han? _Who’s_ in the car?”

MC swallows apprehensively. Lights pop like fireworks around the air. They almost _blind_ her from where she is sitting and as she looks around and she appreciates Jumin’s comment about the umbrella and wonders if _this_ is what it had been like for her mother, even though she _knows_ the media weren’t the sole cause for her death now. She grits her teeth and tries to steady herself. 

“He is a good boy to have in your corner, Miss,” Driver Kim refers to Jumin as he tries to reassure her. 

_“Yes,_ I know,” MC says throatily. She can tell that Jumin is making his way around the car, not _only_ by looking in the mirror, but through how the sound of all the reporters move too in a steady block with him. Suddenly he is by her door and she readies herself, sending one last longing glance at Elizabeth the 3rd who has settled down into a slumber. How she wishes that _she_ could do the same thing! She turns her head away from the cat. Jumin looks over his shoulder now and gestures that the media give him a bit more space as he half-curves his fingers around the handle of the door. He then looks towards her, whilst he opens it slowly, allowing MC a little time to adjust to the awaiting chaos and also to _ensure_ that Elizabeth the 3rd does not take it upon herself to suddenly run across and get out. Aside from making a disgruntled noise though the cat does nothing. MC squeezes out when there is enough room and is almost instantly dazzled at the storm of lights that hit her eyes. Jumin supports her at the waist and then his other hand first closes the car door, before it takes her hand in his. 

_“Please,”_ he begs to no avail, “She is not used to such attention.” He guides her slowly, like a bodyguard, to the podium, which is a few feet away and in front of the entranceway to the C & R building. 

If anything then the attention on them only gets fiercer and MC has to keep up a steady stream of blinking just to _not_ appear as if she’s crying under all the pressure. She’s sure that it would go down well if they thought that she was. Jumin is furious, though not _surprised,_ at his plea being ignored and holds onto her tightly. “You are all right?” he checks with her, so that only _she_ can hear him as they finally make it to the podium. She nods and stands a little off to the side of the podium. “Stay close.” Jumin fishes out the prepared statement from his inside jacket pocket and waits a moment for the media to finish settling around them. The camera clicks slowly die down. Jumin looks at the media rather tersely and MC tries to _not_ count how many eyes are on them at that point, let _alone_ think about the millions that are watching them across the country. Jumin clears his throat. The flashes halt altogether. “There has been a lot of speculation over the past couple of days. I wish to clear a few things up, before I make a brief statement. _Firstly,_ in order to respond to some of the claims that have been put out there, MC”-he glances swiftly at her-“And I would like to make clear that there has _never_ been any engagement between Sarah Choi and I and that much less than that I hardly know her”- 

_“Why_ did your father say that you were engaged to her then?” one of the more confident female reporters calls out. 

Jumin looks at her disapprovingly and lifts up a hand in a stop sign. “I will allow a short amount of questions to be asked at the end of my statement. If you allow me to speak then you might find that I answer your question in the meantime.” He is strong and able to keep any anger that he is feeling beneath the surface. “Likewise there has never been _anything_ between the person you all know as Zen and MC.” Jumin had been quite insistent about mentioning that point in the car even though MC had _questioned_ whether they should mention Zen without his knowledge that they would be doing so. If he had been in the chatroom then they might have asked him about it there. She’d _known_ all the more that Jumin would be keen to make the point after Jaehee had mentioned how people now believe her to be Zen’s ex-girlfriend though. There was no _way_ that Jumin was going to allow that assumption to persist. “They are merely in the same fundraising organization at school and are friends. MC and I would like to make it clear that _we_ ourselves are closer than it has been broadcast in the media and that _far_ from abducting her she came with me of her own accord.” 

“What do your family think about you missing school?” a reporter calls out to her.

Jumin half-glances at MC, before he replies, “You will direct all questions at me. It is rude to call out to a lady. Have you not heard?” MC smiles a little. “The important thing for you to know,” Jumin goes on now, “Is that we have begun a relationship with one another”-he takes her hand, almost crushing her fingers together, and looks across the expanse of media challengingly-“We are very happy together.” When he looks at her for a beseeching kind of clarification she smiles and bumps his shoulder with her own. His hair flutters a bit at that point, but he grins even _though_ the gesture by her had threatened to dislodge his papers. A flurry of lights goes off again as some of the reporters collect the perfect photo for their front pages, before things turn quieter once more. “As for _how_ we met many of you will know that my father, who you all know as Chairman Han and who owns the company that is hosted in the building behind me”-he gestures at it with a hand-“Once dated Chae-Yeong, who many of you will _also_ know is MC’s mother. It is the point of her death that we would like to make one thing clear on. Chae-Yeong did _not_ die of heart failure as was put out at the time.” More flashes go off now and there are intrigued gasps and some muttering. A stirring of a scandal rises in the crowd. Jumin steers MC closer to him now, supporting her around the waist with one hand, whilst still continuing to read coherently from the paper that flaps in between his hand and the podium. “She was found to have committed suicide.” The level of talk and flashes increase. Jumin’s hand tightens upon MC’s waist and the pair of them swallow. “Although MC and her wider family _knew_ of the truth it did not come to light in a wider fashion due to the fact that my father and his company covered it up, more concerned with the public damage that it would do to C & R than to state the truth,” there is an edge to his tone now and the media senses such a thing. Some take more photographs, but most wait on tenterhooks to see just _what_ Jumin will say next. “Similarly, my father only put out what he did yesterday because his _current_ girlfriend Glam Choi, who is sister to Sarah, influenced him to do so, having made a plot with Sarah to, throughout many years, take both my father’s money and my inheritance from me and benefit from it themselves.”

“Does your father know?”

“These are very serious allegations that you’re making. Do you have any proof about it all?”

“Glam Choi is very successful herself. Why would she need _your_ money Mr. Han?” More questions are flung out. 

“Glam Choi is in a lot of debt,” Jumin responds steadily, “I can forward the evidence to you all. My father is aware of this. It is up to _him,_ of course, to decide what he would like to do about it,” Jumin continues, “Those instances-and I talk _both_ about what has happened with MC’s mother now and the _way_ that her death was handled by my father along with _how_ he has behaved ever since dating Glam Choi-have made me see, however, that whilst I still very much love and will _always_ want to support my father if I can do so my methods are different from his and I wish to go down a slightly different path.” For a split-second Jumin hesitates. MC touches at his back, trying to give him strength. _“That_ is why I have decided”-Jumin lifts his head up now and meets the world’s eyes-“Not to accept the inheritance, which my father had always intended to provide me with and to carve out my own path _away_ from C & R.” The media goes wild at that point and Jumin grimaces and holds onto MC tighter still. The gasps that had begun to echo around them as soon as Jumin had chosen to announce that he would no longer be accepting his inheritance transform into a wall of light, which dazzles them both. “I will go to college as I intended to and do the same course that I had been aiming for,” Jumin finally carries on once the light has died down a little and everyone has had a moment to digest the news. “But then, instead of advancing to my father’s company I will be looking to start my _own_ business.” His hand rises when questions begin to be asked. “I will give you more information on what _exactly_ the business will be about and entail when we are closer to the time of its launch. Let me state that I have no intention to rival C & R. I just wish to be given the opportunity to work in the industry that I love and have grown up with and hopefully to be treated more like an _ordinary_ businessman.” MC knows that they both doubt that will _ever_ truly happen but it is something that they can both strive for. “That is all I wish to say for now. I will take some questions,” Jumin allows. 

The media seems torn about which direction it wants to go in. To make it more orderly Jumin encourages them to lift their hands if they wish to ask anything and then picks them out one by one. 

“Is MC pregnant? Is _that_ the reason for the sudden switch from Sarah to her?” that comes from a female entertainment reporter now and both questions make MC and Jumin freeze up a little. 

“No, MC is not pregnant. There _was_ never any switch,” Jumin announces as clearly as he can, but MC can tell that he’s annoyed that _despite_ what he has just told them some people are _still_ choosing to cling to much the same narrative. 

“Did MC and you become close when your father was dating Chae-Yeong, Mr. Han? Was the issue of you possibly becoming step-siblings ever a problem for you?” MC inwardly groans at the turn the questions are taking. “How are your families both reacting to your relationship?” asks a male TV journalist. 

“I notice that you are trying to ask _more_ than one question at a time,” Jumin responds dryly and MC feels _relieved_ when some of the reporters laugh at the thing. “If you could _try_ and limit it to one at a time then I would be most grateful. It makes the process easier for us both. As for all your questions that you have just asked then I am afraid that those are matters for us personally, so I am not willing to answer. Any more? _Yes?”_ He points to a female journalist who is close to the front. 

“Do MC and you intend to get married?” she asks.

Jumin takes a little breath and both he and MC’s eyes try to keep very hard from sliding to one another. Whilst MC blushes Jumin answers, “Yes, one day we do certainly, but we would both like our education and our lives to be more set up first.”

“How did you decide on that?” a rogue reporter who Jumin has not called upon asks, before changing tack and adding, “Has Mr. Han _already_ popped the question to you MC?” 

Jumin’s eyes dart a little more nervously to MC. Seeing her rabbit-in-the-headlights expression and how _clearly_ she does not want to let him down he decides to reply _for_ her by saying, “As I have told you, you should direct all questions at me. That is a personal matter between us. If that is all-?” He begins to steer MC away to show that they are serious about leaving. 

“It must have been a difficult decision to leave your inheritance behind. How did your father react to it?” 

“You will have to ask _him_ that,” Jumin throws the line back at the man now, but then he spots something and hesitates from guiding MC away any further. She follows his gaze and sees to her surprise that _Seven_ is pushing his way determinedly through the crowd. He stops when he gets to the front and looks at them meaningfully. There is something wrong with his face, she notices, despite not having _known_ him for all that long. It is pale and drained from the animated expression that she has seen on it previously. All the energy this time is in his eyes, which stare and stare at them, but aside from that he looks to be a _world_ away from cracking a joke. Something must have happened. Jumin senses it too. He jerks his head back and indicates that Seven should follow them. They make their way into the C & R building and stand to the side of the doors in a corner of the lobby. The receptionist notices them, hesitates on whether or not to ring up Chairman Han and then seems to decide not to. He will have probably have seen them coming from his television set after all. 

“Seven, why are you not in school? What is going on?” Jumin questions him. 

“I managed to get away,” Seven looks between them, out of breath and panting. MC and Jumin both stiffen, knowing that something in part of their world has broken. “Yoosung is out too. He’s gone to V’s place. The police have already been there-Yoosung texted me about it. It’s Rika. Rika’s _dead_ Jumin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seven's alteration-'Jumin's back. Brought a friend'-is inspired by the song, 'Without Me,' by Eminem. 
> 
> Also just a heads up that the next chapter is a long one and might take me a few days to put up, but that it will hopefully be up by Friday. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this one though. :)


	9. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for your support! :3 
> 
> Enjoy the beast that is this chapter!

**Five Months Later…**

MC studies the fish that are swimming in the floor to ceiling aquarium in Jumin’s penthouse. Her hand goes out to touch at the clear glass as a stripy Zebra fish comes the closest it can get to her. She takes a moment to look back on the past five months. 

Ever since Rika’s death she feels like she has been running on autopilot just to get through it all. Jumin hadn’t said much when Seven had announced Rika’s death, aside from asking to be told _everything_ the boy had known, which hadn’t been all that much. Not long after the chatroom conversation that MC and Jumin had, had with Seven, Yoosung and Jaehee, before they’d made their _own_ announcement, V had contacted Seven and then Seven had told the others and it had all spiralled from there. Yoosung had gotten out of school and Seven had done the same thing because apparently Rika had thrown herself off the cliff that is outside the house where V and she had been living together. Jumin had blinked a couple of times when he’d heard the information, folded his arms-the grip of his hands had been _tight,_ MC had noticed-and he’d looked down for a long moment as he’d begun to process it all. He’d looked back at Seven and had asked if there was anything he could do for anyone. Seven had said not at the time, he’d just wanted to tell them because he hadn’t been sure when either of them would be in the chatroom again and in any case this was a message to be given in person. For MC the entire thing had brought back the memory of the police visiting her father, brother and her to inform them of her mother’s suicide. She’d heard Seven mention the party and had come out of her thought at that point. Jumin had said that it would probably have to be cancelled, though he’d check with everyone to make sure that they agreed on the issue. Seven had said that, that was probably the best thing. It had been decided then that Jumin and MC would carry on to Jumin’s penthouse as had been planned. Jumin had seemed pleased to re-unite with Elizabeth the 3rd in the car and had stroked her as he’d held her close. She’d seemed able to sense some of his distress and had kept very still. Driver Kim had exchanged a glance with MC, but she hadn’t felt _able_ to tell him about Rika then, not with Jumin being present. 

She recalls how she’d eventually told Driver Kim when they’d arrived in front of the penthouse and when Jumin had already gotten out of the car with Elizabeth the 3rd safely stowed in her carrier. “Jumin lost a friend today,” she’d told him and the driver had immediately looked grave and solemn. 

“I'm sorry to hear that Miss.” He’d looked to where Jumin had anxiously re-appeared just outside of the doors to the lobby, as he’d no doubt wondered where MC had got to. 

“I better be going.” She’d noticed her boyfriend too and had said a hurried goodbye to Driver Kim. She’d again thanked him for his service in the past few days. He’d accepted her praise as graciously as he ever had done. 

“What are you doing?” Jumin had snarled at her as soon as she’d gotten out of the car and had approached him. One of his arms had flapped. Elizabeth the 3rd had twisted around in her carrier to look at what she’d been able to see of MC. “I thought you were behind me,” he’d gone on at her reproachful gaze. She had _known_ that by coming back to the city and by being in closer reach of their friends and families things would be difficult for them, _particularly_ after the statement that had just been made, but Rika’s death had thrown something else between them and made it more difficult for them to act as one unit even in _that_ short space of time. 

“I am and am always on your side,” she’d tried to reassure him. She’d _seen_ the pain on his face, the _fear,_ and she hadn’t known how to help him. It was difficult to when she hadn’t even _known_ who he’d been mourning in his mind. Was it a friend, or even Rika’s _good_ side? Or was it someone who he might have considered and _wanted_ to be his lover had she not been V’s and if his good manners that had surrounded the way that he’d treated his friend had not existed in the first place? She’d felt torn up about the idea of Jumin holding a candle for the woman who’d had a troubling relationship with her mother and who had possibly threatened her to boot at some stage. To get her mind off the troubling thought for a moment she’d allowed herself to look around at _where_ they had been walking. A lounge, café and restaurant had all been things that she’d spotted on the first floor. She’d seen a sign about how the basement sold imported goods and antiques. On the second floor there had been a music hall. On the seventh a gym. 

“There is a garden rooftop like the one in school. You would like it I think. Maybe we will have a greenhouse in the future.” Those sentences from Jumin had given her hope because it had meant Jumin was _still_ acknowledging her and not allowing himself to be completely consumed by grief. She’d squeezed at his hand. He’d pulled away from her. Her heart had sunk a little at the gesture, but she’d known that his words had been a big thing in that moment and so had accepted them gladly. “There is a helipad up there too,” he’d gone on gruffly as if he’d sensed that he’d made a mistake and had cursed himself for it. 

They’d arrived at the penthouse on the eight floor [their small amount of luggage had already been taken up and had been waiting for them just inside the door.] She’d barely noticed the ivory wallpaper or the floor to ceiling aquarium or the wonderful view of the city that the penthouse had afforded. She’d just been focused on trying to make both Elizabeth the 3rd and Jumin comfortable once more. She’d begun to mother them both and had taken off Jumin’s coat for him. He’d almost pushed her away at that point and she’d caught the flash of anger in his eyes- _far_ more menacing than anything the media had pointed at them earlier-and had sat him down reproachfully. Whilst the kettle had boiled she’d unpacked Elizabeth the 3rd’s things and fed her, before she’d finished the tea off for Jumin. He’d seemed to prefer to stare at the cup-he hadn’t remembered at the time how _rare_ it had been for someone to make him a cup of tea in order to cheer him up _or_ how very much like her mother MC had been in that moment. When he hadn’t finished the tea she’d assumed that he hadn’t liked it and had felt like a failure. He’d retreated to his room. She hadn’t known what to say to him and hadn’t wanted to disturb him so she’d logged onto the chatroom instead to see if she had been able to do better for anyone else. Not being sure of _where_ she was really allowed to go in the penthouse and being unable to help Jumin, however, had dented her confidence. In the chatroom there had been scant mention of her statement with Jumin-though Jaehee had loyally called the thing brave and been a little worried by the abrupt fall in shares of C & R, as she’d _known,_ like MC had done, that, that would put further strain on the relationship between Jumin and his father and on MC in turn-for of course it had been overshadowed by Rika. Everyone had been in shock. Jaehee, who had not known Rika all that well, had been one of the most rational, but still upset about it all. Zen had reminisced about how kind Rika had always been about his performances and how, at first, he’d struggled to believe in her enthusiasm and it had only been when both V and Rika had persisted with him that he’d begun to accept how they felt were really true. He’d also checked kindly if everyone had eaten. MC had, had difficulty feeling as if she were being honest with them all and had worried that she might have come across as strange in response to the whole thing because of what had been hinted at in her mother’s letter and how she was still struggling to cope with the half-answers and the speculation that had arisen from that-selfishly she'd thought that there would be no prospect of full answers any more-but no one had said anything like that to her and she’d _hoped_ that if she hadn’t been able to come across as sympathetically as they’d have liked her to then they’d just put it down to the fact that she had never _known_ Rika in the first place. Seven had been uncharacteristically serious and she’d been reminded of how stark he’d appeared before when he’d told them. She’d come out of the chatroom and had tried to make a bit of a meal out of the ingredients that had been available to her, before a chef had come in any case and rescued her unfortunate attempts, but had been kind about the thing and she’d felt like crying because of it. Jumin had refused to come out of his room. She’d felt worried for him and had put some of the leftover food away. Maybe he’d want it later? She’d _hoped_ that he would. 

She’d been sat with Elizabeth the 3rd on her lap, as she’d looked out across the dark city without really seeing it and thinking about Rika’s death, but mostly trying to work out-unsuccessfully for her mind had been too numb and in shock about the thing at that point-how she might be able to be there and support Jumin through it all when the man himself had finally put in an appearance. She hadn’t _heard_ the soft tread of his footsteps at first-her senses had nearly shut down because of her tiredness-and had swung around a little in alarm when she’d felt the settee suddenly dip beside her. She’d gulped at the sight of him. His eyes had been red and distraught, though he’d looked at her with a sorrowful apology upon his face because of the fact that he’d startled her and her own eyes had quickly softened in turn. She’d reached a sympathetic hand out to him and he’d taken it and had stroked at hers. She’d felt relieved that the gap between them had been a little bridged and that he’d still thought of her as someone who he’d been able to go to. 

“Is she all right?” he’d nodded at Elizabeth the 3rd who had barely stirred at his presence. 

“Tired I think from everything,” MC had continued to rub at the fur that had been just below and at the back of the cat’s ears. 

“And _you?”_ Jumin had understood at that point that she might not have _solely_ been talking about Elizabeth the 3rd. “You probably think that I should not be so upset after your mother’s letter”-

“She was your friend before all that.” She’d squeezed at his hand. “Of _course_ you’re going to be upset. You have so many good memories of her.” She’d wondered if Jumin loved Rika, but had just decided to observe him and allow him to lead their interaction together. She’d sensed that he was still capable of being prickly after all, though he’d looked mollified by her handling of him and had thanked her for looking after Elizabeth the 3rd so steadily in his absence. “It’s fine,” she’d told him. 

“I-I'm not sure if we should mention what we discovered to V now.” MC’s back had tensed. “What difference or good could it do?” he’d sounded a little apprehensive about bringing the thing up and it had occurred to MC that he might have _actually_ been avoiding her _more_ for that reason rather than solely because he hadn’t felt able to share his grief with her or because he harboured feelings for Rika. In spite of herself, and more because of him and the others being upset in that moment, she’d agreed. It wasn’t as if she was _cheering_ over Rika’s death after all despite the complications that she’d probably always have in her mind whenever she thought of her. Rika was young. _Too_ young to die. Her main reservation had been over V and whether he would be able to get enough support if they pretended they were oblivious to the truth. Jumin had said that he’d phone his friend soon, but that whether Rika had ever injured him or not she was at least not there to do any more damage to him and it would probably only embarrass him to admit that they were aware of more than what he’d realized. MC, thinking that Jumin probably knew best where V was concerned, had gone along with it. It had been easier for her to at that point, though she hadn’t fully believed that the truth of Rika would die in that one decision and because Rika herself was now dead, but like with the matter of Jumin’s true feelings for Rika, she had bided her time.

* 

The following morning she’d been glad when she’d gotten up early, even though she had, had to confront the contrast between the supposed situation and the _real_ one when she’d looked at the paper that had been delivered and seen that it had, _‘Jumin’s Joy,’_ on the top-half of the front page along with a photograph of Jumin and her as they’d looked at one another fondly during the media statement the previous day, because at least she’d been able to take the initiative and hide it from Jumin-she’d crumpled it up and hidden it in one of the saucepans, thinking that it was the one place where Jumin was _guaranteed_ not to look. She’d felt sick from everything that had happened. 

There’d been no school for her to get to because of the holidays, before the new year started and Jumin had uncharacteristically told her to get out of there and go and meet Jaehee. It had felt like a long time since the two girls had met after all and a lot had happened in that time. Jumin seemed to think that she should be using the opportunity, _especially_ in light of what had happened, to show that she valued her friendship with Jaehee, but MC had been _loathe_ to leave him. He’d said that he’d be fine with Elizabeth the 3rd, but she hadn’t been convinced and had _only_ left him when he’d irritably snapped at her and had seemed to demand his own space by disappearing into the bedroom. She’d been reminded of how Jumin had pushed her into taking his bed the previous night, whilst he had taken the settee bed. She hadn’t been able to sleep-the scent of him had kept her awake as much as her anxiety and she’d heard him pacing around. She’d been lucky that she’d been able to hide the newspaper as he’d worn himself out. 

The walk to the café where she’d arranged to meet up with Jaehee had been an uncomfortable one and she’d wished she’d had the common sense to get Driver Kim to take her there even if it had only been a short distance or that she’d listened to Jaehee’s concerns about meeting up at _all. [‘It’s not that I don’t want to meet you, MC,’_ Jaehee had reassured her friend, _‘I’d like to do so before we go back to school, but are you sure that it’s a good idea to do so today and so publicly?’_ MC had been stubborn enough, and _frustrated_ enough by then too, not to back down.] The media had waited for her outside the block that had housed the penthouse and regular people on the street had looked and muttered as she’d passed and had tried to keep her head down.

When she’d thrown herself into the thankfully small café where the media had _not_ been able to follow her, although they’d lurked outside the windows and made it so uncomfortable for the other patrons that MC and Jaehee hadn’t lingered long in there-MC had felt a sudden tidal wave of guilt that they might suddenly become interested in Jaehee as well-she’d hugged her friend and things had slipped back into a normal enough way for them. MC hadn’t felt as awkward as she’d thought she might in front of her and had been glad that Jaehee had been wise enough to understand that things might be difficult between MC and Jumin because of all the attention that they’d been receiving and had shown worry for his disregard in letting her go there in the first place. MC hadn’t agreed with her there. Jumin had _enough_ on his plate what with Rika and Jaehee had looked troubled by the thing, but it had been good enough for MC to just talk about it with Jaehee, even though it hadn’t been for that long, before she’d had to get back to the penthouse due to the media focus. 

Jumin had been coming off the phone when she’d arrived and there had been a crease between his eyebrows. 

“Was that V?” She’d felt concerned, but had understood too that he might have wanted her out of the penthouse for that reason and so he’d been able to talk to his friend in private. She’d only just about noticed the lunchtime spread of food that had been across the table. A mixture of hot and cold it had all looked delicious and her stomach had rumbled as she’d taken off her coat and bag. Jumin had looked at her knowingly. A slight smile had graced his face, before he’d shaken his head firmly. 

_“No._ Although I _have_ spoken to him. He has already withdrawn and put his camera down for a while I fear, but I wish to talk about _you_ for a moment. I have procured a school uniform along with some other clothes for you”-

“You didn’t have”-

“That was Jaehee on the line,” he’d said, before she’d been able to do something silly like either protest or thank him for the clothes. 

_“Oh.”_ MC had been surprised and wondered what Jaehee had called there for. She’d dismissed the idea that she could have forgotten something for neither of them had taken anything out of their bags with the exception of money to pay for their short-lived drinks. Instead she’d had a horrible feeling that it was more to do with the _conversation_ that she’d had with Jaehee and wanting to stop whatever Jumin might have told her, before he’d even been able to begin she’d said dismissively, “I didn’t give her a _reason._ I wasn’t sitting there complaining.”

He’d looked at her levelly for a moment. “I believe you, Princess, _but”-_

“Did you make all of this?” she’d cut him off before he’d been able to go on again and had nodded at all the food. 

Jumin’s brow had creased once more. “You want to talk about _that?”_ He’d stared at her and let out another sigh. “In that case then,” he’d murmured, “I laid it all out. I would like you to come up with a list of all your favourite foods that I can incorporate into a healthy eating plan for you whilst I am away. _I”-_ he’d continued more hesitantly-“Desperately desire to be able to cook more things for you, but as I only _want_ you to have the best”-

“I'm not sure if I _need_ to have the best”-

_“Princess…”_ there had been something broken in Jumin’s smile at that point. He’d gone to her, taken her hand and had led her to the sink. He’d grasped at her as if she were the most fragile thing in the world. She’d been able to _feel_ the great emotion coming off him, but hadn’t been able to understand it fully. What had happened whilst she’d been out and what _had_ Jaehee said in her phone call to him? As he’d stood behind her he’d scrubbed away at MC’s hands. His breath had hovered against her ear as he’d told her, “I need to take care of you. Will you let me?” as well meaning as his words had been they’d made something tighten in her stomach. “Apologize too for snapping at you this morning and telling you to go in the first place.” Her gut had been right. “I will have to buy you lots of gifts to make up for it.” 

_“Jumin-_ What is this about?” She’d turned her head up towards his. The water had still run over their entangled hands and wrists, but the body parts themselves had been still. 

He’d huffed out a breath. _“Jaehee”-_ he’d leaned back from her ever so slightly-“She seemed to believe that I have been neglecting you and she was _right”-_

“It was only _yesterday_ that you found out,” MC had protested and she’d turned around to him at that point. Her hands had dripped water onto the floor. “I don’t expect your attention to be on me right now and anyway, I'm fine,” she’d told him. 

_“Are_ you?” He’d half-directed her gaze with his own to the newspaper that she hadn’t even _noticed_ had been on the closest counter top. It was the same one that she’d hidden. “Chef was quite surprised when he found it earlier.” She’d looked away from both the newspaper and him at that point. _“Princess…_ talk to me,” he’d encouraged her. 

“I-I just didn’t want you to be hurt when you saw it.” She’d looked at him. 

_“Why_ would I be hurt?” he’d questioned her. “That is a happy memory for me. Is it not for you?” 

"Of course it is." Her expression had grown more uncertain. _“Rika…”_ she’d attempted and had waved a vague hand in the air. A few droplets from it had splashed onto the floor, but neither of them had paid the slightest bit of attention to them. They’d only had eyes for one another. 

“I feel sad and confused yes, but _you_ are my future. I want to look after _you.”_

She’d seen the murkiness that had been in his eyes and had sensed a level of insincerity coming from him. “You don’t have to think that you have to pay me attention because I-well I'm not going to do what my mother did.” 

_“Mm.”_ He hadn’t been sold on the matter. 

“I'm not going to break or leave you, unless, unless you _want_ me to of course.” Something had begun to simmer between them at that point. 

_“Why_ would I want such a thing?” Jumin had tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers had still been a little damp. “Why would you even _think_ such a thing?” He’d looked at her forlornly. 

_“Rika…_ If you wanted space or time or something”-

“Jaehee said that I cannot allow what happened to Rika block my memory of what is taking place between us right now and I agree with her, although I was cross with her when she first mentioned it. You need my support right now too and the world is continuing, no matter how much I might want it to stop,” his voice had threatened to break in that moment. “I _want_ to be there for you”-

“This is what I _mean_ though,” she’d protested. “You don’t _have_ to feel like”-

“No, no Princess you do not understand me.” He’d grasped at her hands lightly, but had looked guiltily off to one side. “I have not one hundred per cent been supporting you as much as I would have liked to. I started to realize such a thing last night and _Jaehee_ made me see it fully”-

_“Whatever_ Jaehee said”- she’d felt a little cross with her friend. 

“In my _mind,_ Princess.” He’d squeezed at her fingers and had looked at her rather maddeningly. “That is what I mean. That I haven’t been one hundred per cent faithful to you in my _mind.”_

_“Oh…”_ She hadn’t known what to do at that point. Both her mind and heart had raced. Her fingers had remained limply in his hands. 

He’d looked at her with a guilty kind of sympathy about his face and had run a hand through his hair, before he’d replaced it back underneath hers. Tears had leaked out of his eyes. “When I started to wonder how I feel for you I questioned how I feel for Rika too. How the two things compare. _If_ they even do”-

“I see,” MC had been a little stiff in her response and she’d felt sick with nerves about what might happen. Jumin had stroked at her hands reassuringly. 

“It was easier to think of _you,”_ he’d told her, as if she should be glad for the fact. “Rika was with V, so even thinking about the thing made no difference to what the reality was and I tried not to.” 

“But when you did,” she’d been thirsty for information, “And if she _hadn’t_ been with V-if the three of you had only been friends then would you have-?”

“What do you want me to say?” He’d eyed her crossly as if she’d trapped him in that moment. “If I speak the truth now then will you leave me?”

She’d shaken her head. “I just want you to continue to be honest with me”-

“Like _you_ were honest about the paper?” he’d tried to delay her defensively. 

“We _both_ could do better,” she’d admitted, “But if you’ve stopped yourself thinking about it before and now that she’s-well, maybe it would be healthier for you to try and properly work out how you feel for her? So that you can _grieve_ more openly?”

“You _want_ me to hurt?”

“I want you to _heal,”_ she’d countered. “And I know that you have been drinking. I can smell it on you. Burying it-it won’t help. Trust me, I know. You helped me before. I want to help you now.” She’d stared at him determinedly at that point, but Jumin had looked away from he. “I won’t think any less of you if you loved her. If _that_ is what you have already decided upon.” 

“And if I _still_ do?” Jumin had questioned her fearfully.

“Again it”-

“Even _after_ your mother’s letter?” Jumin’s voice had been but a whisper then. “The threat that Rika might have held to you”-

“It doesn’t matter,” her throat had been incredibly tight at that point, “My feelings for you won’t just die if you admit to it. Like they wouldn’t have died if you’d chosen Sarah.” 

“Wouldn't that have been painful and not very constructive?”

“Of _course,_ it would have been like dying every day,” she’d tried to both emphasize and move on from the matter at the same time. “But it-it wouldn’t have _surprised_ me if you _had_ chosen to be with someone like Sarah. Not because of the way that I think about _you,”_ she had been quick to add, “But rather because of the way that I think about _myself.”_ Jumin had looked puzzled for a moment, but MC being harsh on herself hadn’t exactly been anything _new_ to him and he’d soon frowned in resignation about the fact. “Just like,” she’d gone on with more caution in her tone, “It doesn’t surprise me if you _loved_ and still love Rika and this is my point really”-her eyes had been a little damp and she’d touched at his arm lightly-“I understand if your feelings about her are too private to share with me or if you don’t want to tell me about them. I just want you to know that if you _do_ want me to then I _will_ be here for you whether you want to talk about Rika with me or not. I _will_ listen if you want to talk, offer an opinion if that is what you desire from me and I _will_ just be around as support for you as much as possible during all the other times because I _get_ that just because you are with me now your feelings for Rika will still exist.”

He’d swooped down at that point and had pulled her until she’d been flush against his chest. Her hands had gone to his back. His had crossed her own and his chin had rested upon her shoulder. For a moment they’d just listened to the anticipated breaths from the other. “You are so kind to me even though I feel like I have betrayed you.” 

_“Jumin,”_ she’d pulled away from him a little and locked her eyes with his, “I want you to listen to me now. You have _not_ betrayed me. It is _possible_ to have feelings for two people at the same time.”

He’d huffed out a watery breath. “I wonder now though if the love I think I have for Rika was like the one I had initially for Elizabeth the 3rd. She is a pet now”-‘A _beloved_ pet,’ MC hadn’t been able to help but think then, for Jumin’s attitude might have changed towards Elizabeth the 3rd, but his _approach_ hasn’t altered all that much-“But I used to expect too much from her and maybe I did the same with Rika?” MC had wondered if he had just told her that to try and make things up to her? If he had been trying to _minimize_ the whole thing for her sake? “I do know _one_ thing however,” he’d rumbled and had looked her in the eye, “I feel for you the _most_ that I have done for anyone in the world.” She hadn’t been able to help but wonder if that were true or if Jumin had only tricked himself into believing such a thing, as he had done with Elizabeth the 3rd. He’d poured all of his emotions into the cat. _Was_ he mistaking his feelings for her in turn? Was she just another possible Rika and Elizabeth the 3rd to him at the end of the day? 

As if he’d sensed such negative thoughts he’d told her, “You are a priority to me. When will you ever learn such a thing?” She’d hesitated and so he’d gone on, “You will make sure that you are honest with me, yes? You won’t let the distance that we will shortly be facing come between us? I _need_ you to tell me everything that you are facing and I _need_ you to look out for yourself when I am having one of my moments and being too dense to. I should never have let you go out this morning.” His face had been troubled and anxious and he’d grasped at her hand needily in that moment. 

“It’s fine”-he’d looked at her-“Okay, I’ll try and do better,” she’d relented with a quick smile that had tugged at his heart.

“I am going to miss you so much MC,” he’d confessed to her tenderly. “It was strange enough _today,_ though I was glad that I was able to welcome you home.” He’d looked down pensively for a moment, before he’d met her eyes again. Something vulnerable had shimmered in his own, as delicate and thin as a piece of thread. “I would appreciate it if you could do the same with _me_ whenever I come back from college. I _know_ you might be busy doing your own thing but I’ll feel neglected if you don’t.”

“Of _course_ I’ll greet you,” she’d murmured, as she’d lifted his hand up and down as if she’d been attempting to dismiss his own fears. “Elizabeth the 3rd and I will miss you greatly. It will be _so_ strange for us to be here without you.” 

“The thought of you greeting me makes me feel excited,” he’d grinned.

“It was nice to see you here now. _Jumin…”_ They’d caressed hands and kissed one another for a moment. “I do not mean to make you upset _or_ cross,” she’d said to him when she’d noticed how tears had still gleamed in his eyes, “You have”-

“Don’t say that,” he’d warned her with a finger, “There is just _you_ now.” He’d cradled her face firmly with one hand and been able to feel his breath upon her face. “You understand how important you are to me? You are my fresh air and we are in this together. I cannot do this without you.” She’d nodded. He’d kissed her fiercely and had pushed her back against the sink. She’d let out a moan as he’d thrust a leg between hers, which had only spurred him on all the more to kiss her fervently and he’d leant against her and had shielded her protectively as she’d grown breathless. He’d been forced to surface for air, but no more than a few seconds had passed of them panting and looking at one another with eyes that had glittered similarly, before he’d attacked both her jaw and neck with a line of hot and open-mouthed kisses, as if he had been searing a military operation that would forever take care of her there. He’d groaned a little a she’d arched against him and had tilted her neck back compliantly to give him better access. Jumin had lavished it with attention, before he’d pulled a little away from her and had asked, “Could we stay together like we stayed together that one night in the cherry farm? I would like to watch your face if I cannot sleep and I missed you last night.” She’d nodded at that and had sensed that she would _never_ not sleep in his bed again. He’d kissed her briefly and the pair of them had gotten ready. They had slept easier that night-their bodies nestled against one another and insulated from the rest of the world –and it had helped prepare them for what had been ahead.

For the following day Chairman Han had announced his separation with Glam Choi. Rumours had soon begun to spread of a re-conciliation with Jumin. That Jumin would get his inheritance back and that Jumin would _maybe_ even be more agreeable with his father and say that he _would_ marry someone that his father had picked out for him after all. They made out like MC had merely been used to make a point by him and it had worked enough and resulted in him having his own way. They made out that Jumin had been disapproving of his father’s choice in girlfriend. That _both_ father and son had learnt their lesson. In reality Jumin had left a message on his father’s phone saying that he had _known_ then that the choice to split from Glam Choi would not have been taken lightly and that he loved and respected his father as much as he ever had done and _maybe_ Jumin, MC and Chairman Han would be able to go for a meal together sometime? It was optimistic, they’d both known, but they’d still been surprised when Chairman Han hadn’t responded to his son by the time that MC had gone back to school in March. She’d been loath to return with the way that things had been, but Jumin had insisted that she do such a thing. Her family would have an extra reason to pick on them and report the situation to the media if they’d found out that she _hadn’t_ been attending, _and,_ in any case, it hadn’t been like she’d been able to do anything about what was going on. She couldn't _force_ his father to reply just like Jumin had told her she couldn't. She hadn’t been sure that there was absolutely _nothing_ she could do, however, and had wondered if she should go and visit Chairman Han on Jumin’s behalf. She’d been hesitant about the thing and messing things up any more however and so had gone back to school in the meantime. She’d found it to be _worse_ than when her mother had dated Chairman Han. _Everyone_ seemed to know her name at that point. It hadn’t just been negative to start off with though either-a few people had even congratulated her on the engagement which she wasn’t sure was even a reality and had asked to see a ring that she didn’t have. They’d gotten standoffish when she’d been forced to openly declare such a thing. Other students had sniped at her and had been openly jealous. They’d told her that they hadn’t _known_ what Jumin had seen in her. Some had mocked her, saying that it had been pointless her being with Jumin because he’d given up his inheritance and they’d acted falsely grateful that they weren’t in her position themselves. They’d seemed to think that Jumin had lost his head over her. Jaehee had done her best to defend MC and MC had tried to take solace in the other RFA members too, although she’d kept a bit of a wide berth from Zen apart from privately messaging him just in case more rumours would be started up about them again. She hadn’t _wanted_ to upset Jumin inadvertently either. She’d spent a lot of time with Yoosung, however, who was blaming V for not having kept a better eye on Rika and for _not_ allowing them to help her. The blond boy had accused the other of being cold when the police had come. She’d tried to listen and support him as much as possible, whilst she’d tried to get him to calm down about it all. Her school work had felt as if it had come secondary and even her teachers had treated her differently too and _far_ more harshly just in case she might be enjoying the attention and due to the fact that Jumin had given up his inheritance so any influence that she might have had on Chairman Han had been limited.

But then, a couple of weeks later, Chairman Han _had_ replied, making out that Jumin being low down in his list of things to do had been the reason for his late reply to him and MC had gone home to see Jumin’s look of mingled fury and despair. He had been drinking again. She’d been able to smell it on him, though he hadn’t much tried to hide it from her, having learnt his lesson from before or perhaps not _caring_ in that moment. He’d gone on to explain to her that Chairman Han had told him that he was disappointed with Jumin for going public with, _‘that’_ girl and that he’d once again thought his son was acting rashly. MC had seen in that moment just how necessary it was for her to visit Chairman Han. Jumin would press the self-destruct button on himself if she didn’t and she couldn't allow him to do such a thing. 

The media had punched _her_ in the stomach the following day however. The largest newspaper in the area had done an interview with her father and brother who had _finally_ been able to make some money from the situation. They had given the paper some photos from when MC had been a child and had made out that she’d been such a sweet girl who had unfortunately taken after her mother as she’d gotten older. They’d made out in _no_ uncertain terms that she was after the Han’s money and that since the boy had been foolish enough to give up his inheritance their relationship would be over soon. Her father had blamed her youth and the poor example that her mother had set her. They’d made out that she was as mentally unstable as Chae-Yeong had apparently been to commit suicide and that if Jumin had insisted on staying with her the same thing that had happened to his father would happen to him and MC would hurt herself and cause trouble. They made out that the obvious thing to do would be to end whatever had sprouted between them. They’d _also_ complained about how MC had not gotten in touch with them since this had all started and had not mentioned her disinheritance. 

“You’re not”- Jumin had been angry about so many things as soon as she’d tearfully showed him the paper that morning. 

“I _know,_ and I am more thankful than you can ever realize that you know that I am _not_ like that. This would never work otherwise.” His face had softened at that point and he’d pulled her so that she’d been sat at the end of the bed beside him and had tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The duvet had still been rumpled because he’d only just gotten up himself and so had still been in his usual grey and white stripy pyjamas, whilst _she’d_ only just gotten dressed herself in her school uniform and had stepped out to find that the paper had been delivered. “I am _so_ cross that they could jeopardize us like this, but realistically I don’t know _what_ we can do about it to stop them Jumin. We _can’t_ take legal action every single time they open their mouths because if we want to be able to stay here, in this penthouse, and have enough to pay for bills, our dedicated staff”-Jumin had also proved good on his word and had gotten her, her very own security detail- _“And_ to possibly get us through college _and_ for the business then we can’t afford it and they must _know_ such a thing! They must be _aware_ that they can keep talking and we won’t be able to do anything about it or maybe they just don’t _care.”_

_“Shh_ Princess, do not get yourself all worked up about it,” he’d urged her and had tugged her into his arms at that point. 

“I'm just so _angry_ Jumin.” She’d swiped at her eyes. “Everything is out of our control. They are trying drain all our dreams,” she’d worried, “Just like they did with my mother.” Jumin’s hold had tightened upon her and his heart had skipped a beat. “They are trying to give me no space until I do what they want me to and they will have _benefited_ from the whole thing!” 

“That will _never_ happen,” he’d told her firmly and had looked into her eyes seriously. “Do you want me to hang around school today? I don’t mind coming.” She’d shaken her head at him. People would be talking enough as it was and his dismal graduation ceremony had long since been-they’d had a very quiet day on the whole and the celebration had been minute-so he had no reason to be there any more. “All right, if you are sure, but I will come and pick you up later with Driver Kim.”

“There’s no need for all of that.” She’d shaken her head then and her heart had hopped a beat nervously inside of her chest and she’d felt annoyed at herself for making such a fuss of it all. If Jumin came then she wouldn’t be able to go and see Chairman Han that day. She’d felt bad from hiding the thing from him, but he’d _never_ let her go or insist on going himself if she was worried about it that much. In which case he’d probably get his hopes up [though of course he’d _try_ not to do such a thing] and she’d probably end up hurting him inadvertently. She hadn’t wanted that. She’d just wanted to try and be able to solve it _herself_ if she’d been able to. 

He’d looked at her suspiciously for a moment, but had quickly dismissed it and looked guilty about the notion. “I’ll see you later?” he’d asked her questioningly. 

“Of course.”

He’d pecked her on the lips and then they’d had breakfast together, before she’d left for school. 

She’d discussed Driver Kim picking her up early and at the time that she’d _normally_ have done her self-study at-at least the issue of her Hagwon had no longer been something that she’d had to think about since her father had no longer been paying for the thing and with a bit of work she’d hopefully be able to get a respectable score-and the driver hadn’t seemed _too_ keen about her plan _or_ about keeping the thing from Jumin, but had eventually agreed to it. 

It had been another tough day at school as people had gossiped and MC had _still_ found it hard to concentrate fully on her studies, _especially_ since she’d also had the addition of being worried that Driver Kim would not pick her up at the time that she’d requested he did or that he’d tell Jumin about her plan in the meantime. She’d _also_ had to contend with Jaehee’s disapproval when she’d confessed that she’d be doing something for Jumin instead of her self-study that day-Jaehee had been worried that MC might regret letting her studies slip all the more, but had appreciated that it had been difficult for her friend to focus-so MC had been _more_ than a little relieved when she’d walked out of the building at the right time to see Driver Kim pulled up by the kerb as they’d agreed upon. 

“You know that Jumin might not thank you for this?” he’d eyed her steadily in the mirror as he’d basically asked whether she’d wanted to go through with the thing. 

“I know,” she’d murmured, “But I’d rather do something about one thing than nothing about _anything.”_

“Very well.” He’d trusted her judgement then and had done all of his usual checks, before he’d pulled out. She’d felt grateful for the fact that he cared about them-even _though_ she’d still wanted to go through with the thing it was nice to know that _someone_ was worried about what was at stake here enough to look out for _both_ Jumin and her. She’d gotten more nervous and fidgety as the journey had progressed, however, and Driver Kim had said to her, “I could always take you home Miss? Jumin would be surprised to see you, but we could just blame it on the rumours for today and on you wanting to get home. No harm done in you pulling out now.” 

‘No _good_ either,’ MC had thought quietly to herself, before she’d told Driver Kim, “No, no, I'm fine really, please continue.”

“Very well Miss,” he’d said resignedly and the rest of the journey had gone on in silence. 

“I’ll try not to be too long.” She’d nodded at Driver Kim when they’d arrived at the building. He’d urged her to take as much time as she’d needed and not to worry. With a last brave smile at him she’d forced herself out of the car. Her stomach had dropped a bit as she’d craned her neck up just to catch _sight_ of the extent of the tall building in front of her. As she’d tried not to look at it all that much she’d proceeded to the lobby and then the reception with wobbly steps. The memory of making the statement and of _first_ hearing about Rika’s death had come back to her and she had not felt any bolder. The receptionist with long tied back black hair had clearly recognized her, but had coolly enquired as to _how_ she could be of help. News had played on a screen in the background and MC had done a bit of a double take when she’d seen the presenter who had looked startlingly similar to her mother. 

“I'm here to see Chairman Han,” MC had announced as she’d taken a little strength from what she’d felt was her mother’s presence and hoped that it would be _that_ straightforward and that the receptionist would _not_ go on to call the media and that she’d find a herd of them outside later on. 

“Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist had asked her. 

“No, but erm, I was hoping that if he had a minute available I might be able to see him?” She’d been icily appraised at that point and had gotten the feeling that the receptionist had _believed_ that she hadn’t known how business had worked and that she couldn't just see Chairman Han at her every whim. 

The receptionist had picked up the phone and tapped in a few digits. “Good afternoon.” She’d tilted her head to one side. “Yes, that’s correct. I have a young woman down here asking for attention.” MC had blanched at that. She’d _wished_ that had been phrased differently. “Oh, I’ll just check.” She’d held the phone away from her and covered up the mouthpiece. “What was your name again?”

“MC.” MC had _known_ that she’d already been aware of that fact though and that had simply been asked to intimidate her. 

_“MC,”_ the woman had spoken into the receiver. “Yes that’s right. I _thought_ that it was.” She’d let out a little amused laugh at that point and MC had shifted her position and almost regretted coming. It would be worthwhile if it made a beneficial difference to Jumin though and that had been the _only_ thought that had made her continue to stand there. The receptionist had cut off her laughter abruptly and put the phone down in its holder once more with a neat click. The cool expression had been back on her face again. “He’s in a conference room at the end of the sixth floor. A meeting has just come to an end, so you’re welcome to go up, before Chairman Han’s next scheduled appointment.” She had not told her _how_ long she’d had, but she’d _sensed_ that it hadn’t been long. “You’ll need to sign in and have a temporary pass, which you’ll need to bring back to _me,_ before you leave.” MC had nodded then and the receptionist had been more compliant after that point as if she’d known by that point that MC had not been messing her around and had been serious about meeting Chairman Han. At least that’s what she’d _started_ to believe until she’d tentatively knocked at the door at the end of the long and intimidating sixth floor corridor and _seen_ as she’d had permission to go inside and popped her head around the door, that the meeting had still, in fact, been in progress. 

Eyes of middle-aged men had swivelled to her. Some had lowered their take-out coffee cups and looked amused by the sight of her. 

“Ah, here she is, my son’s latest conquest, or is he _yours_ my dear? I can never quite tell.” Chairman Han had been sat at the head of the table, which had been parallel to the door. Some polite laughter had followed his wry remark and something had clicked inside MC because of it, but she’d been cool with him all the same. 

“I thought a man with so much experience like yourself might find it _easy_ to tell something like that. Or aren't you as good as you make yourself out to be Chairman Han?” There had been more laughter and cajoling at that point. She’d stepped inside the room and the door had flapped shut behind her. The men had seemed to be entertained by her and had nudged at one another in a conspiratory fashion. One had even started to light a cigarette as if a performance had been about to happen in front of him.

“If you do that in here then it’ll set the smoke alarm off and the _entire_ building will have to file out. Put it away Park,” Chairman Han had said without even having to look at the man. He’d kept his eyes on MC. “Very funny of you my dear, but I don’t think _we’re_ at the stage where you can jibe me as if I am already your father-in law,” he’d put her in his place. Like his action of being too close to her at the cherry farm it had been meant to intimidate her, but she had _not_ been afraid of him. She’d _known_ that he was merely trying to assert himself in front of the other men and had been grateful in fact that he appeared to be taking her relationship with his son more seriously. “What is it that you require of me? Does my son need bailing out? Been buying you too many gifts has he? He doesn’t know how to keep a woman.” There had been a couple of guffaws at that point and MC had thought the words were a bit ironic coming from him. 

“Jumin and I are _fine_ thank you, but I would like a word with you all the same.” She’d seen a man who had made fun of her out of the corner of her eye-he’d moved his shoulders in a way that had attempted to be feminine and had mouthed, _‘Jumin and I,’_ as if she were treating everyone royally. She’d tried to ignore such a thing and keep her temper under the surface. She had _not_ been there to make things worse-but that had very nearly been the straw that had broken the camel’s back. 

Chairman Han had sighed and saved her in his own way. “Very well, we are due to take a fifteen-minute break in any case. Go and refresh yourselves,” he’d told the gentlemen dryly, “Because when you get back here we will be staying until this deal is complete- _one_ way or another.” At his nod chairs had been scraped back and the volume of noise had suddenly increased inside the room. The supposed gentlemen had pushed and shoved their way past her and for a moment she hadn’t been able to _see_ Chairman Han, but then, and rather abruptly, there had come silence and only _them_ left in the room. “Take a seat my dear,” he’d offered her a chair to his right through making a gesture with his hand. She’d swallowed and been about to take it when he’d added, “I’ve been expecting you to come and see me.”

“You _have?”_ she’d been thrown by such a remark and had stepped closer, but still remained a wary distance away. Her heart had thumped madly at the prospect of her somehow going wrong and making things worse for Jumin. 

_“Mm.”_ Chairman Han had glanced up at her. He’d fidgeted with something at the same time in his inside jacket pocket. “My son can be very stubborn, and as he has some of my genes inside of him I expected him to hold out a bit longer. _You,_ on the other hand, have too much of a soft heart like your mother.” 

“It is not a sin to be _kind_ Chairman Han. You might have forgotten, but you loved my mother once.” 

“I have not forgotten my dear. Why don’t you take a seat?” He’d waved his hand at that point and had finally taken what he’d been rooting for out and laid it on the table. When she’d seen that it had been the chequebook her heart had gone cold. 

“I have not come here to surrender or take your money Chairman Han. _Only_ to make a plea.”

“And what might that be?” he’d asked.

She’d swallowed hard then and when she’d spoken it had been with care, “I would like it if you were able to be on _better_ terms with Jumin by the time that he leaves for college.”

“Would you now? And what does my _son_ think of that?” He’d looked down and then back up at her once more. “Oh, _that’s_ right, you haven’t told him about your little excursion here today, have you my dear?” Chairman Han had stood up at that point and attempted to draw the two halves of his suit jacket over his rotund stomach, but they hadn’t quite made it. “Jumin’s stubbornness is the _reason_ for the downward trend in our relationship. He has brought this upon himself.” He’d perched on the desk at that point. “If you don’t mind me saying I don’t think this little _thing_ between you is going to work out. A word to the wise my dear-kindness is one thing, but naivety is quite another and it doesn’t _tend_ to be a good thing in either business _or_ relationships. He _has_ asked you to go into business with him post him completing college I take it?” 

_“I”-_

“I can guess that he _has_ done such a thing _because,_ and _despite_ what he might like to think, the apple does not fall far from the tree. I can also see that you look a little stressed already. The media getting to you are they? The core of your relationship with him is already rotten. How far until it extends to the whole fruit do you think?” MC’s hands had clenched into fists at that point. She hadn’t been able to _believe_ that he’d been _that_ blunt to her about her mother and had, had to work hard, as she’d stared at him, not to say how they’d known by then that her mother’s death had not _simply_ been because of the pressure from the media and that it had been more complicated than that. “He’ll be gone soon, as you know, and you will be on your own. Having to deal with all this pressure by yourself with very little support and _all_ your school work on top of that. You have very important exams next year don’t you?” She’d bitten at her lip. “Is that _really_ how you see yourself graduating? Being a celebrity? I know that, that’s not you my dear. Why do you need all the unnecessary stress along with what you are already going through? You can guarantee that once Jumin hits college he’ll begin to think differently about him and you as well. You’re fighting a losing battle my dear. You’ll be on different _planes_ once he leaves. You still a schoolgirl and Jumin out meeting people who are more the same level as him. He’s had a nice last hurrah with you, but you can bet that within a year he’ll be willing to work for me again and you shall be on the sidelines, _where,_ quite frankly, were it not for luck and fate you might always have been. Best to take what I am offering you now-a cheque with any figure that your little heart can imagine on it-and be able to relax more for the rest of your life because your other prospects aren't looking very good.” 

She’d been shaken by all his words, but the fear of her relationship with Jumin _not_ working out even after everything they’d been through had _not_ been an unfamiliar one to her and despite it all she’d been determined to give it her best shot. She _owed_ Jumin that and herself at least. Owed him to _not_ doubt him at that point. “I _know_ that you care for your son Chairman Han.” She’d taken a bit of a breath at that point. “I _know_ that although part of the image you have of me has been created by Glam Choi and that you have forgotten, or perhaps did not think as positively as I _thought_ you did of me when you were dating my mother, you still have _fears_ that, that false image you have of me might be true, even with what you have discovered about Glam Choi. I _know_ you are worried about the past repeating itself and about the business which you have spent much of your life building up. You would be a fool not to be and you are not a _fool_ Chairman Han, but I am not going to hurt your son and I am _not_ a threat to the business. I _love_ your son and I would like to go into business with him yes, if we can make it work so that it doesn’t have a negative impact on our relationship and if I am _able_ to learn what I do not know as of yet. If I cannot manage that, however, then I will not leave him in the lurch. I will find a career of my own and _still_ try and support his. I would like for you to be able to give me a chance if you cannot trust me yet and repair your relationship with him because this is about _more_ than me Chairman Han. This is about the beautiful relationship that you have with your son and no woman or girl should ever come in between that.” She’d heard clapping behind her at the end of her little speech and had whirled around. 

Jumin had been stood there with the door partly open behind him. She hadn’t been _aware_ of how much he had heard, but he must have heard the tail end at least as he’d worn an extremely proud expression upon his face and it had sent warmth through her and made her feel as if she’d _tried_ to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences from it might be and that more importantly he understood such a thing. Behind him had stood some of the workers who had come back for the continuation of the meeting. A couple had recorded the whole thing on their phones and another had wolf-whistled at her. MC had touched at her hair self-consciously. 

Jumin had stepped forward with a frown. “I believe you heard her Father. The ball is in your court now, isn’t _that_ how the saying goes? I heard it on TV one time.” He’d grabbed MC’s hand at that point and had steered her towards the elevator to much applause. Chairman Han had looked after them with a thoughtful expression upon his face. 

“Aren't you mad with me?” MC had looked at Jumin worriedly as soon as they’d been inside the privacy of the elevator. 

“Mad no, worried yes.” He’d turned her to him and had tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, before he’d grasped at her hand again. “When I had been intending to go out myself-I wanted to help scout out ingredients so that Chef could make you a nice meal after the article today”-her expression had dropped slightly, as she’d very nearly forgotten about the article and Jumin had squeezed at her hand reassuringly-“And phoned Driver Kim to fetch me I was alarmed when he eventually confessed to me where you were. I _demanded_ that he come take me to you at once and I very nearly fired him.” MC had _known_ at that point that she would not have been able to pull the same stunt twice and that Driver Kim had probably been commanded-and had only escaped being sacked-by agreeing to go along with calling Jumin at once should she do, or _try_ to do, something that had been unexpected for the pair of them like that ever again. “I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head,” Jumin had carried on to tell her, “I worried that Father would upset you, but after the little performance that you put in there just now how could I _ever_ be cross with you Princess? You were astonishing, trying to stand up for me, _us,_ and what is right. No, I can only feel gratitude because of those things. You gave Father something to think about and hopefully he will. It is his own fault if he cannot see the light after all that. But _still,_ don’t do anything like that ever again. It worked out this time”-

“I think it will still take some time.” She hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up.

“I know. Did you _really_ mean it when you said that you’d like to go into business with me?” 

She’d nodded. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with our relationship,” she’d remarked, practical as ever about what it might take to keep things alive between them. 

He’d squeezed at her hand. “I can’t _believe_ that you have agreed. Thank you…I can _imagine_ that Father was quite stubborn though? I saw that he had his chequebook out?” He’d wrapped a protective arm around her and thanked God for her again. 

“Yes, he tried to pay me,” she’d reported to him. 

“You are all right though?” He’d scrutinized her. “Because if you are not then we will go back there and I will give him a piece of my mind.” In that moment she hadn’t doubted the thing. 

_“Yes,”_ she’d given him her defiant reply, before she’d touched at the hand he had around her and he’d clasped it in turn. “Aren't you worried about the people who recorded it though? We’ll be in the papers again…” She’d been surprised that he _hadn’t_ brought that point up or gotten angry with her for doing the thing so publicly and basically provoking the media with her words to write about them. She’d wondered, if in all honesty, and when it had come to it, she’d _only_ let him down. 

Jumin had shrugged though. “They were trying to do so through the door before I came. I told them off for it at first, but when I heard your voice and you speaking as you were, so passionately, then I decided to let them get on with it. I was right,” he’d purred in a way that had raised all the hairs on the back of her neck at that point, “It _was_ worth recording. No one has _ever_ spoken to my father in such a way before. I was and _am_ very proud of you.” She’d tried to smile as he’d kissed her on the side of her head, but had been concerned nonetheless. 

* 

The media had made the split between the Han father and son more of a thing. Jumin had been cross when he’d read the full detail of what his father had said to her in the exchange that day and had once again worried about her not being honest with him and being _more_ upset just in order to try and shield him from it and she’d tried to placate him through reminding him that it _had_ been the right thing to do and that they’d both _agreed_ that it had been. The media’s interest in her had increased as they’d tried to re-mould how they’d seen her and had opted to characterize her as a more confident person than they had done before. 

Over the course of the next month Yoosung had started to try and get the others to see the benefit of holding some sort of funeral, or at least a _memorial_ service for Rika. He had seemed to think that the others had already started to forget about her. He had wanted her to have her _own_ place that they had been able to visit. V had been adamant however that they should give more time for a body to surface. MC had anxiously watched Jumin feel caught between the two whenever the argument had risen during one of V’s rare appearances in the chatroom and how, although he’d been able to see Yoosung’s view to a point, he’d questioned the boy’s motives and had thought it had been for more _selfish_ reasons than anything else, whilst he’d awkwardly each time ended up siding with V much to Yoosung’s chagrin. MC had seen Jumin more frequently, however, and in a more _private_ way than any of the others had done and she’d _known_ that he’d been conflicted about whether or not taking V’s side in this case was _truly_ the right thing to do. On the one hand it was _all_ he had ever known: V was Jumin’s oldest friend and leader of the RFA and so Jumin had _always_ shown a certain deference towards him, but there was also the other: V’s relationship with Rika _not_ being what it had seemed to be to the others and the loyalty that Jumin had felt to MC in turn. Was it a betrayal to her if he never called V out on the thing? If he never _questioned_ V for reasons or confronted him about the darker picture that MC’s mother had painted of Rika? MC had reassured him that it wasn’t and that he was simply trying to be sensible about the whole thing and _not_ create further division between the group, but it had always seemed to be there in the background and Jumin had, had other issues, which had been of concern to him too. One night he’d brought one up with MC: “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking of late,” he’d told her as if she hadn’t realized such a thing, “I’ve decided it would be better for me to go to a different college.” He’d angled himself around the edge of the coffee table and had sat down beside her with a glass of wine in his hand. 

She hadn’t been looking forward to him leaving and to what it might do to their relationship-in spite of it all she hadn’t been able to _help_ but bear Chairman Han’s words in mind-but when he’d told her such a thing she’d looked at Jumin in an aghast fashion. “You’ve worked so hard!” she’d complained. “And Wharton is meant to be _really_ good for business students, the ranking is”-

“I _know,”_ he’d held up a hand, for he _had_ known that, “But there is a good business school in Singapore as well. Maybe not rated _as_ good,” he’d confessed to her, “But the distance on a plane is a bit less from there to here, not much, but _enough_ of a difference if I need to get back to you quickly and every second should count”-

_“Jumin…”_ she’d felt uncomfortable at that. It was true that she didn’t _want_ him to be sitting in America and fretting about her, but she hadn’t wanted him to jeopardize his future for her [he had already done _enough_ in that department] or to do anything that he might regret and it had sounded like he might be going over the top here. 

“Let me make this one compromise, _hm?”_ he’d shifted his wine glass from one hand to the other, so that he’d been able to grasp at her hand. “I would feel _more_ comfortable if you allowed it and I have already been accepted in Singapore anyway. It was one of the multiple schools that I applied for.” He’d looked at her imploringly at that point. 

“But if there is not much of a _difference_ between the travel time anyway-?” she’d questioned him. 

“If you will not look out for yourself then _I_ will do so for you. I would feel _much_ better being closer to you and in knowing that we are only half a day apart rather than any more than that and I will _still_ be leaving in the last week of July as we had thought I would be. You _know_ I can’t stand the idea of you not being a hundred per cent safe.” 

“And you _still_ think that you will be able to learn as much as you need to?” she’d asked him. “Because it’s pointless otherwise.” He’d nodded promptly. “All right…” she’d sighed, adding a squeeze to his hand and sensing that she’d already lost the battle anyway, “But no more compromises. You’ve done enough as it is.”

He’d smiled and pecked at her hand at that point. “I promise Princess.” She’d _known,_ however, that when it came to him doing what he _thought_ he needed to do in order to protect her that there was no such _thing_ as too much. 

MC had braced herself for him leaving after that, but nothing more worrying than the anticipation of their separation had happened until she’d started to get letters from Rika. She’d gotten the first one a month before he would be leaving and ironically a week after two curious things had happened. Firstly the RFA messenger had been hacked. Seven and V had begun to look into the matter, but no answers had been forthcoming by the time that she’d received the first letter. Yoosung had been set off all over again, doubting that Seven and V would let them know the truth anyway and not even V giving him the laptop that Rika had apparently bought for Yoosung just before she’d died had been able to quash his doubts for the other man. He’d also said something about V’s eye being hurt and that he had been wearing shades and using a stick to help him get around.

“Did you _know_ about such a thing?” MC had asked Jumin after Yoosung had revealed it in a chatroom one night. 

“I have been _trying_ to get him to have treatment.” He’d avoided her eyes initially and _then,_ in the next moment, he had been particularly gruff with her. “I apologize. I should have told you. I do not want you to think that I am squandering all the money that should be going towards our future together, but _V”-_ he’d broken off awkwardly, but his words had done enough to suggest that V was a special case and would _always_ be in his mind.

“I'm not worried about the money at all,” she’d told him, “I would have been _fine_ with you helping him. It’s _your_ money anyway. Is he going to have treatment?” 

“It’s _our_ money,” he’d slavishly corrected her, as his hand had brushed some of her hair back away from her face, “And no, he refuses. No matter _how_ much I try to persuade him”-

“What happened in the first place? How did he get it? Did he tell you?” It had been at that point that Jumin had looked _particularly_ awkward and suddenly MC had understood. _“Rika,”_ she’d said. “That’s why you didn’t tell me. She-She hurt him somehow and then she-oh God-she committed suicide after doing _that_ didn’t she?”

“I am not sure if it happened that way,” Jumin had told her, “But I _know_ that there was some kind of argument between them, before she died for he has confessed that much to me at least and that ever since then V has seemed to believe that he _deserves_ to suffer and that he _should_ suffer in the way that she wanted him to”-

“She _wanted_ him to suffer?” She’d hurriedly put that knowledge alongside her mother’s letter and what they’d speculated about previously. If Rika had _wanted_ to hurt V then had that meant that she’d wanted to hurt MC’s mother also and truly intended to hurt MC herself at some point? 

“I am sorry Princess. I know that all of this is hard for you to hear.” 

“But _V”-_ she’d wanted to hear more about him. 

“He could go blind in the end if he does not get treatment,” Jumin had obliged. 

MC had looked shocked. “It’s _really_ that bad?”

“It is as bad as it _could_ be for him,” Jumin had reported to her gravely; before he’d gone on to tell her more earnestly, “I-I am sorry for not telling you before. I _know_ how much you have tried to both help and protect me and I wanted to repay the favour to you. I did not want you to be upset over the thing. I also- _selfishly_ I suppose, did not want you to think any worse of Rika or me and my judgement of her in turn, but I have been hoodwinked far more than I would have liked by her.” He’d sighed. “It appears as if we were right. She _was_ dangerous.” There had been a long pause between them for a moment and MC had held his hand. 

The second thing to have happened around the time of the first letter had been that V had _finally_ agreed to hold a funeral service for Rika on the morning of the day when Jumin would be leaving for college. MC had taken it as an acknowledgement that Jumin, as a friend who had stood by him, _deserved_ to have the chance to say goodbye to Rika as much as anyone else did, even though, because of V’s lateness in deciding, it would be in a bit of a rush. 

Shortly after MC had arrived home one night to find a serious looking Jumin and had then been followed inside by several of her security detail and joined by the head of his. She’d been alarmed. She’d looked warily at all the men and had gone to stand by Jumin’s side. He’d pecked her chastely, but firmly on the lips-almost as if he had been punishing her for keeping him waiting. 

“Have you been drinking?” she’d been able to smell the scent of red wine on him. 

A muscle had throbbed in his temple and he’d clutched at her waist a little harder than he usually would. “That is not the matter here,” he’d told her abruptly, “Security found a letter addressed to you today, which was brought to my attention. It was from Rika.” 

For a moment she’d simply blinked. “Before- _Before_ she died? She sent it to me then?”

“No Princess.” Jumin had shaken his head dismissively. “I did not want to scare you or trouble you with the issue, _but”-_ he’d swallowed and had not seemed to have digested the news fully himself by that point. His hand had shaken and she’d taken it in hers, studied it and felt breathless because of the tremors, before she’d covered it up with her own protectively. “The situation is so severe and because of what we know that she did to V and her contact with your mother I have had no choice. It looks like Rika is still alive and this was sent to you more recently”-

“Have you had Seven”-

“I had my _own_ people look at it,” Jumin had been defensive and had pulled away from her, before he’d gone on _more_ apologetically, “Seven is too close to V and I am not sure how to play this one as yet. It might be that they _both_ already know about such a thing”-

She’d realized how tainted Jumin’s trust in V had become at that point, but had been unable to prevent herself from protesting, “What if they _are_ in danger Jumin? Why let us all suffer? Especially Yoosung and you?” 

“They might be, but what if they are putting _us_ in danger? _You?_ Are they doing so for Rika?”- 

“You need to calm down.” She’d positioned herself in front of him and had gripped at his shoulders. He’d panted and had pushed against her for a moment. “Why don’t you let the others go and then we can try to”- 

_“No,”_ Jumin had moved her back from him decisively with his hands upon her waist, “I need to make an announcement. From now on,” he’d looked at both of their guards, “And more explicitly than I have _ever_ told you before you will put the safety of MC’s life above my own”-

“There is _no_ way”-

_“Silence!”_ he’d warned her.

“I wouldn’t even _want_ to be here if you’re not!”

“If she gets injured,” something had rippled across his entire face at her words, but other than that he’d ignored her completely and gone on with his _own_ tangent, “Then your priority will be to get her to a place where she can be treated and to _safety,_ even if it means leaving me or that I cannot come with you.” The guards had all nodded reluctantly at that point-as much as they’d wanted to dispute the thing Jumin was in charge of them after all and it had looked as if he’d _already_ made his decision. “You will make sure that she is covered at every single moment of every day. If there is _not_ enough of you to do that then more must be hired or some of my _own_ detail will fill the gap”-

_“Jumin”-_ she’d protested.

“I will _also_ do my bit,” he’d revealed, and his voice had risen above hers, “I will not go to college. I will stay here where”-

“No you won’t! You damn well _will_ be going to college even if I have to escort you there myself! Or what has this _all_ been for?” she’d snapped at him at that point, before she’d looked around at the other men so darkly that finally Jumin had sighed and given them the nod so that they’d been able to leave. They’d scurried out of there and had seemed _much_ smaller than they’d normally done. She’d turned back to her boyfriend heatedly. “If _this_ -what we have been fighting so hard for all this time-is _ever_ going to work then you _need_ to go to college.” 

“And leave you here, so that you can become like your mother?” Jumin had said in return. “She has already sent one letter and we know from past experience that she is _bound_ to send more. I will _not_ take that risk MC! Not with you. _Never_ with you.”

“And I will _not_ have you waste your life for me!” she’d roared at him. “Just so that you can wait here, on edge, and become more and more resentful when nothing happens! That will _break_ us apart Jumin! We will be _nothing!_ I will leave you if you don’t go to college because I would rather do _that_ then watch us slowly disintegrate as we surely will with your plan”-

“Why won’t you let me do _anything_ for you?!” He’d gripped hard at her arm suddenly. 

“Let go of me”-

_“I_ -Why won’t you let me do what is best for you? For your _own_ protection?” he’d complained at that point. 

“Whatever is going on in your head right now, no matter _how_ scared you are, we can fix it Jumin, but _not_ how you think we can and not like this, so stop being someone that you are not out of fear and become the man I love again.” 

Slowly realization had dawned in his eyes and his hold on her had loosened. He’d looked sheepish at that point and terribly apologetic as he’d let go of her. _“Princess”-_

“I’ve suffered _worse,”_ she’d given a dismissive rub to her arm and had brushed the matter aside. _“Now,_ what did Rika want in her letter?” She hadn’t been able to say that she was terribly _shocked_ that Rika was still alive, surprised maybe and a little bit more scared than had come across on the surface, but overall she’d felt a surge of adrenalin and almost excitement about the thing that she still might be able to get her answers! 

“She wanted to meet you,” Jumin had revealed at that point and his voice had been hoarse with fear, as if he’d _sensed_ what was going through her mind. 

MC had folded her arms and had not looked at him for a moment as she’d thought about what had been best. Then her eyes had locked with his and Jumin had _hated_ the look of determination that had been on her face because he’d _known_ that she was about to put herself second again and do something foolish. “Why don’t we let her?” she’d suggested at that point and Jumin’s mouth had opened in incredulity as if he’d thought her insane. 

Now it is a month later and the day of the funeral service for Rika, which Jumin has scoffed about due to the fact that of _course_ they know that she is not dead. MC had persuaded him that for the sake of everything working out well then they _had_ to let Seven and V know about the letter that Rika had sent to MC. They had not been forthcoming about the relationship Rika had, had with her mother and had played their cards close to their chest, but MC had thought that they would be able to help in the operation and that if they _hadn’t_ known about Rika still being alive then V especially deserved to hear some of what they had been aware of. Seven had genuinely seemed shocked about the thing, but V _hadn’t,_ much to Jumin’s displeasure and MC had only persuaded him to hold off on venting his anger to his friend by saying to him that they would _need_ V’s support if their plan was to be a successful one. If anything goes wrong with it though then MC _knows_ that Jumin won’t be able to hold back from V any longer and is almost _glad_ that he is scheduled to leave for college later that day. Since they had received the letter him going away has almost been a secondary issue in her mind and a point that she actually _hopes_ will happen as it should mean that everything has gone the best it can do and that the threat from Rika has been neutralized.

Jumin comes out of where he has been brooding in his room and sees her standing by the floor-to-ceiling aquarium. He is dressed in a dark suit and tie and a white shirt with grey pinstripes. His expression tightens upon seeing her for a moment, but when she looks back at him equally as sternly it eases him and he lets out a sigh. “You are aware that I am _not_ happy about this?”

“Of course.” It is only the _thousandth_ time that he has told her after all. He allows himself to look at the black dress that she is wearing now and which swirls around the top of her matching heels. She fidgets with the silver bracelet that he has given her for the occasion and which has a tracking device inside of it should something go wrong, before she goes across to him and grasps at his arm. “Everything will go all right.” 

“I hope that, that is a correct statement Princess. I _know_ that you have never valued yourself and perhaps _that_ is what allows you to be able to treat yourself so carelessly today”-

“I’ve _told_ you, I just want things between Rika and us to conclude so that we can move on from it all”-

“You also want to find out the truth about your mother’s death?” He looks at her knowingly at that point and she bows her head with a bit of a sigh in acknowledgement. “But _I”-_ he doesn’t have to say that he doesn’t want to lose her. She _knows_ such a thing. She touches at his cheek as reassuringly as possible. 

“I'm only doing this because I _need_ to, love.” 

“I know…I do _know_ you are, no matter _what_ I might say and I will try to face up to today and whatever emotions it brings in the same way like you are willing to.” He presses his lips against hers, but they wobble and bang more than latch onto them. There is no doubt that he is terrified and perhaps _more_ scared about what’s to come than she is. Her hand slides down as she steps slightly back from him and interlocks her fingers with his. “You look pretty by the way, or is _now_ not the right time to be acknowledging such a thing? I'm sure it is though.” He analyses her thoroughly and she feels a blush forming because of the intensity of his stare. 

“I _will_ come back to you Jumin.” She squeezes at his hand. 

Instinctively he pecks at her cheek. “I hope that you will,” he murmurs, his breath hovering against her skin for a moment. 

Elizabeth the 3rd makes a sound and as one they turn to look at her. Jumin is half-dreading something happening to her as well, though not on the same level as MC of course. The cat is dozing on the settee and it brings back memories of how _neither_ MC nor Jumin had wanted to get up that morning and how they’d in the end elected to spend a few more minutes in bed, their limbs warm, but not touching, before they’d finally forced themselves to get up and to properly acknowledge what day it had been. MC had done so first and Jumin had attempted to pull her back to him, not being ready himself to let go of her, but she’d been anxious about the day ahead and had peeled his fingers off of her. He’d snapped at that point and had accused her of preferring death to a lifetime with him and of doing anything she could to get away from him. It had been the absolute wrong thing to say and MC’s hurt expression and the sob that she’d repressed as she’d muttered about how he has _no_ idea how much she cares for him, as well the hurried way that she’d gotten dressed and had fled the room had told him so. He feels guilty for it now. 

“I'm sorry about this morning,” he murmurs, “It was a foolish thing”-

“Yes it was,” she doesn’t hold back and he flinches when she looks him in the eyes and he sees tears billowing in her own, “I'm doing this for us, as I have explained, and the only reason I would _ever_ be more accepting of my _own_ death is if I might be reunited with my mother because of it and, in time”-she’s particularly teary now and Jumin realizes something suddenly-“If Elizabeth the 3rd and you happened to die before me. I would be _so_ lonely then. Especially if Jaehee was gone as well.”

“I will look after myself today too,” he tells her. 

“See that you do.” He puts a steady arm around her waist and kisses her on the shoulder. She smiles a little and is more receptive of the soft and enquiring gaze that he bestows on her. They hear one of the guards telling them that Driver Kim is waiting for them and that they _really_ must be going now if they are to get to the church on time and just like that, and when they might have had a softer moment between them finally, a moment that was erased from the tension of the day ahead, they are reminded of all the traps that are coming up for them. 

She sighs now and Jumin gives her hip a bit of a squeeze, before he goes on across to the cat. He scratches affectionately in the way that Elizabeth the 3rd likes behind her ear and talks to her in a low voice, which MC fails to decipher. 

He takes such a long time about it though and is deliberately stalling, she senses, that she is forced to say to him eventually, _“Jumin?”_

_“Yes,_ I know,” he straightens up and lets out a bit of a breath, before he seems to make his mind up about something and goes over there, grasps at her hand and pulls her rather roughly out of the door, past the guards and into the elevator. He doesn’t let go of her and his fingers almost knead a little at hers when they are in the privacy of that small space with the door shut on them, as if he is trying to give her enough strength for the day ahead. “Whatever happens,” he says, “You are the strongest person that I know and I trust you.”

“I trust you too.” She squeezes at his hand. 

_“Good.”_ He turns her to him now and her heart skips a beat when she sees the genuine and tender smile that is upon his face. She feels like she might be able to do _anything_ with him looking at her like that. “You don’t have to be afraid.” He kisses her gently. "Not of anything." She stands on her tiptoes and grasps at his hair and soon the kiss becomes a more passionate one and Jumin breathily presses her to the side of the elevator and dominates her, whilst MC runs her hands up and down the sides of the shirt that is beneath his suit jacket. 

When they depart from the elevator and get into the car Driver Kim looks slightly disapprovingly at them. There is no point in giving him an apology or an excuse-he knows _exactly_ what they've been doing. “We’ll be pushed for time now sir.” 

“Just do your best,” Jumin urges, settling back into the seat and looking calmer and pleased with himself. He takes MC’s hand. 

The traffic build-up that seems to be absolutely everywhere makes them feel pressure, however, and by the time that they roll up to church, even though they are _only_ five minutes late, Jumin is forced to kiss MC quickly on the back of the hand, look at her meaningfully and then dash out of the car, heading to where the other pall bearers are. V is there of course, though how he is quite going to manage to lift the coffin since he has a stick and sunglasses on MC doesn’t know and Seven and Yoosung are also with him. 

As MC clambers out of the car a little more shyly after giving a knowing Driver Kim a brief ‘thank you for taking us here,’ she thinks that she hears Jumin apologizing, but again it is fairly obvious what the hold up has been. Yoosung gives her a small wave of acknowledgement when he sees her-his eyes look puffy and red as if _everything_ has suddenly hit him full on now and she feels bad for him and the fact that they had not been able to share the truth with him, but acknowledges in her heart that Jumin had probably been right when he’d told her that Yoosung of _all_ people would be bound to give the game away. Seven nods at her whilst looking tense and vulnerable. V just looks awkward about the situation-Jumin had informed her that V is able to see a little bit out of his left eye and that little had apparently been enough to glimpse her with. 

She nods quickly back at them all and shuffles off to take her place inside the church. She is glad when she has the friendly face of Yoosung’s mother to greet her, but can’t help but wonder where Rika’s adopted parents are at the same time. Shouldn't _they_ be welcoming everyone? Unless they’re at the front of the church? 

“Oh dear, how good it is to see you again, though not in these circumstances of course.” Yoosung’s mother gives her the order of service. Rika’s face blooms too brightly on the front and MC tries to arrange her face into an expression of suitable sorrow. “Thank you for coming.” 

“Thank you, er”- MC looks uncertainly down at the already packed church. 

Yoosung’s mother decides to help her out, “Jaehee and Zen are already towards the front of the church if you would like to sit with them?”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll go and do that.” MC looks at her gratefully now and makes her way down closer to the front. She’s sure that she hears _more_ than a few people recognize her and point her out to their neighbour, but though her breath hitches every time this happens she tries to ignore the issue on the whole. It is a relief, however, to be able to enter the same pew as Jaehee and Zen. Jaehee gets up to hug her warmly and MC does so in turn. 

“We almost thought that you weren’t coming,” Jaehee looks at her anxiously now, her hands on MC’s upper arms. 

_“Oh,_ we just underestimated traffic,” MC can’t help but blush. They sit down and she grasps hands briefly with Zen, but feels glad for the fact that Jaehee has placed herself strategically between them. 

Even more so when Zen says, “I'm not sure _that’s_ the reason.” He waggles his eyebrows now. 

Jaehee bats him fleetingly on the arm. “I'm _sure_ Jumin and MC weren’t doing anything like that,” she tells him disapprovingly. 

_“I_ would. If I had someone special then I’d want to hold them close today,” Zen counters and they all fall silent at that. MC once again feels guilty about how she hasn’t been able to tell everyone the truth as of yet. 

Organ music softly plays and they all fall into their own thoughts. 

The coffin is brought in. All the boys hold onto it with such care and reverence and though V seems to have the lightest grip on it out of them all he manages to do well, only needing to be nudged by a slightly mutinous looking Jumin on occasion into a better position. They maneuver the coffin carefully down on to the bier and _then,_ with a delicate peeling of their fingers, they let go of it, turn and sit down. Jumin doesn’t hesitate to take his place next to MC, which she feels kind of sad about because she’s _sure_ that if they had not found out about what they had done then he would have been more hesitant about whether he should sit next to V or her. She hopes that things will be able to be fixed between V and him soon and that, that day might go some way to doing that. 

“You are cold,” he observes as he grasps at her hand. 

“So are you.” She doesn’t want him to make a fuss as she is _aware_ that they are being watched and that some people have worked out who she is from Jumin’s gesture. Jumin blows at her hand anyway as everyone settles down and MC turns red. She thinks that she hears Zen sarcastically saying something on the other side of Jaehee, but then the service starts. 

The priest gives them an overall sense of who Rika had publicly presented herself as-kind, compassionate and someone who was willing to work hard and care for others. Jumin’s nails dig into MC’s hand, for they _know_ a bit differently at least and neither of them had considered or _talked_ about how hard it might be for them _not_ to blurt out the truth that day as they listened to such things. MC shifts her position ever so slightly and Jumin does the same. They are led in prayer and then they get up to sing. It comforts MC a little to hear Jumin’s rumbling voice beside her. After that it is time for V to read a tribute to Rika. 

The turquoise-haired man, who looks a little scruffy now with longer hair and naturally unsettled, gets up but stumbles on his way to the pulpit and _Jumin,_ in spite of all that has happened and much to MC’s relief, gets up at once, as if it is still a very instinctual thing for him to want to help V and he places supportive hands around his old friend. V is shocked by the action, but Jumin seems to say something to him, which either serves to reassure him or makes sense to him in any case, as they go up to the pulpit and turn to face the assembled crowd together. Mutters have grown up at all the fuss that is happening and Jumin and MC exchange a little glance with MC trying to look at Jumin encouragingly. 

“V-that is _Jihyun-_ has asked me to read the tribute for him.” Jumin gestures to the piece of paper that he has taken from V and laid down across the pulpit. MC cannot help but feel a great chunk of affection for him. Even though _he_ himself is hurting and is not on the best of terms with V right now he can’t _help_ but be there for him, just like he had tried to be there for her before when her mother had died. Jumin clears his throat a little and turns his attention more fully to the page, whilst V stands still beside him. _“‘Rika, it is hard for me to know what I should tell you, so let me tell you this,’”_ Jumin begins, sounding almost as if he might be beginning to believe that Rika is gone as V would like them to. _“ ‘This is what we always used to say to one another. Rika, you are my sun and I am your sun. I am sorry that we weren’t able to protect you. That I wasn’t able to.’”_ Jumin pauses now and for a moment MC wonders, as he gets a hard kind of look upon his face, if he is about to tell the truth to everyone or go off on his own tangent, but then his eyes find her and grow at once softer and more emotional and it occurs to her that he is simply taking a moment to dreadfully contemplate how similar those words are with the ones that _he_ might say about her should something go wrong that day. She shivers and has the feeling that she is at her _own_ funeral. _“ ‘The earth will protect you now.’”_ Jumin blinks and can’t look at her any more. He stares down at the page instead. _“ ‘Flowers will be brought to show the world the potential you might have had and what you could have turned into if you’d been given the chance to bloom yourself.’”_ His eyes find hers now and a weight hangs between them, as he warns her silently not to mess things up that day and not to leave him. Not to _dare_ do such a thing. _“ ‘You are my sun and I am yours. I hope that my rays will still be able to reach you somehow. Until we can see one another again-goodbye Rika.’”_ Many people in the church are upset by the reading of the eulogy. Seven has a hand clamped on a shaking Yoosung’s shoulder and the blond leans towards him, whilst Yoosung’s mother too grasps onto her son’s arm comfortingly. Jaehee blows her nose loudly in a handkerchief. Zen’s eyes grow red with emotion. V bows his head. Jumin swallows down a lump of feeling and hands the paper back to his friend, before he guides him to his seat. MC doesn’t realize that she’s crying herself until Jumin’s anxious gaze falls on her and her heart skips a beat at such a look, her mind faintly registering how she might appear, before it is confirmed when Jumin pushes his pocket-handkerchief into her hand. She dabs at her eyes with it, before she dabs at his and he looks at her with gratitude, replacing the pocket-handkerchief. 

The rest of the service passes by in what feels like a low hum, Jumin and her grasping hands tightly the entire time and both bracing themselves for what is still to come. Once it is the appropriate time they begin to make their way outside. 

They are quiet as they start walking to the plot of land. _Then,_ and as is right and they have planned, Jumin looks at her one last time, as if he wishes to memorize everything about her, squeezes at her hand, lets go of her-one of the hardest things that he has ever had to do, she senses-and makes his way to the graveside service without her. Feeling emotional herself she forces herself to look at his courageous back as it moves away from her in stages and to gain strength from it and be sure that all of this-his love for her and every struggle that they have somehow managed to push through, if not overcome-is real. 

Just as they had thought she would when she tears her eyes away from Jumin and the flattened grass that is the _only_ sign amongst the wonky headstones that he had been there it is not long, before she sees a blonde head that disappears beneath the cover of one of the headstones. Time for phase one, she knows. She gives a covert kind of look around and then picks herself slowly towards the church gate. Just outside of it Driver Kim is now trying to eject Rika from the car. 

“It’s all right Driver Kim. She’s with me,” MC is unusually formal with him-he is in on the plan too, as are all of Jumin’s security detail and her own-hence the current lack of protection she has now, which she’d thankfully thought would lure Rika out better-but both Jumin and her want to keep Driver Kim protected as he is valuable to the pair of them and they have much love and respect for him. She is determined, as a result of that, not to show Rika how much he means to them. 

“Sorry Miss. I didn’t realize that she was a friend of yours. I thought she just wanted a ride,” Driver Kim plays it cool, “Will you be wanting to go back to the penthouse together or are we waiting for the young sir?” 

_“Jumin_ is still at the service,” she tells him, forcing her tone into one of disapproval and as if he has nothing to do with her relationship with Jumin. “If you can simply take us to this address instead?” she reels off where she’d used to live, though of course it is the orphanage that they will be going to. Still clutching the order of service she slides into the back of the car beside Rika. “It must be a little strange for you to be here today?” she says cautiously as Rika takes the order of service for a moment, flicks through it idly and then disposes of it by her own feet. 

“Not as many people came as I would have liked them to, but thank you for meeting with me here today. I’ve been _wanting_ to call on you for a while,” Rika smiles brightly now and MC tries not to be dazzled by it like so many people, and _Jumin,_ had been. 

_“Oh?”_

“I owe you a thank you after all, for being willing to cover my role in the party before.” She’s still beaming and MC forces herself to do the same in _spite_ of the fact that her skin is crawling from every word that she is hearing from Rika and from the situation itself. She wants to get out of there, but is _aware_ that she has to play her part and she still has some way to go yet. 

“It was nothing,” MC goes on off-handedly, “I suppose you _know_ that they had to call it off?” she asks her now. 

“It was a _terrible_ shame,” Rika remarks, “I thought they might have gone ahead with it?” MC wonders what would have happened if they _had_ done such a thing. Would Rika have gatecrashed or would it have been too _early_ for her to reveal herself back then? _“Still,_ I'm thinking of throwing one myself tonight. That should make up for it,” she muses. 

_“Really?_ For what reason are you planning to throw a party?” 

“Let’s just say that I will have a lot to celebrate by that point,” Rika teases now and MC and Driver Kim exchange a glance in the mirror. She can tell that he feels uneasy too and that he would _already_ like it if he could phone Jumin. 

“Will the _others_ be invited to this party?” 

_“Possibly.”_ Rika looks her up and down suddenly and MC worries that she somehow _knows_ that some of the others are aware too that she is still alive. 

“Do you think, in that case then, that people will be in the _mood_ for it?” MC tries to get Rika’s attention away from the others and on thinking too much about the likelihood of what might be going on and back onto her once more, even if it makes her angry. Rika’s eyes fix on her. _“Well,”_ MC says reasonably, “If they find out that you’re alive again then it might bring a lot of difficult things back up for them. Even though your funeral service wasn’t held right away they’re very upset still and I'm _sure_ that you would _hate_ to make them feel any worse,” there’s a hint of challenge to her tone. 

Rika lets out a high-pitched laugh now and it makes all the hairs on the back of MC’s neck stand on end. “That’s a nice bracelet,” she cuts off her laughter suddenly to say and she stares at MC’s wrist, “Did Jumin give it to you?” The gaze that Rika gives her makes MC know that Rika _is_ aware of some of their plan after all and is at least _pretending_ that she is not put off by the fact that MC is wearing a bracelet that is tracking their every move. She probably realizes that Driver Kim will be reporting back to Jumin as soon as Rika and MC get out of the car too. _Why_ has she walked so _willingly_ into their trap? 

They pull up beside the apartment block where MC had used to live with her family. “Thank you Driver Kim. You don’t have to wait around.” There is no point in hiding it any more, but Driver Kim gives MC a stare as if he is trying to plead caution that Jumin would surely be proud of nonetheless. She nods and gets out of the car. Rika makes it to the door of the orphanage before she does and Driver Kim watches them until they disappear inside of it. As soon as they have he digs out his phone to make the call to Jumin.

*

Jumin is only _half_ -paying attention to the service, which is still continuing beside what will be known as Rika’s last resting place. Jumin is finding it difficult to concentrate, however, because all he can think about is MC. Where is she now? Is she all right? Is she on her way to the abandoned orphanage as they’d planned or have things gone wrong already? He feels a little bit better that Driver Kim is with her for the _first_ part of her meeting with Rika, but _knows_ that there is still some element of risk there and his chest feels tight at all the possibilities. Rika could twig what is happening or she could have such a severe mental episode about it all that Driver Kim will be forced to pull over and will be _unable_ to communicate with him. He assumes that if that _had_ happened, however, that Seven, who is also being rude to other people at the funeral by checking the tracker that links up to MC’s bracelet on his phone covertly every few seconds, would have caught his attention and indicated that they needed to move. The fact that Seven is seemingly _satisfied_ with the way that things are going every time that he checks his phone goes _some_ way to reassuring him, though it doesn’t stop his hand from being clammy as he holds onto his _own_ mobile phone. Finally it buzzes and he holds it automatically to his ear. 

_“Hello?”_ Both Yoosung and his mother give Jumin a disapproving look so he moves a few steps away from them and hopes that they will understand once things are fully explained to them. He can _feel_ Seven’s eyes upon his back as he does so. He listens to Driver Kim’s rapid, but detailed explanation of what has just happened and feels alarm begin to trickle through him at the idea of Rika knowing, at least _partially,_ what they are up to and not seeming to care about it. Where does that leave MC? What will happen now? He feels a need to be by her side even though she _herself_ had seemingly been calm about the thing. “Driver Kim come,” he changes the plan and then reverts back to it when he says, _“No,_ I will take another car as planned, it will be faster that way. Inform me at once if they move or if any strange noises come from the building.” 

“Yes sir.” They both disconnect from the call at the same time. He takes a heavy step forward. Seven is by his shoulder and grasping onto it in a moment. Jumin turns to him a little defensively now, before his face turns more neutral at the anxious expression that is on Seven’s.

“She’s onto us isn’t she?” 

“She knows about the tracking bracelet,” Jumin is curt with him. 

“Then we have to get them out of there”-Jumin has already turned away and made to take another step forward, but _now,_ and with something not quite fitting into place at his words, he looks back at Seven-“I'm sorry Jumin, but she has my brother! She has _Saeran!_ I spotted him entering and exiting the building.” Jumin had told him to keep an eye on the abandoned orphanage over the previous month and report if he’d spotted a sudden increase in activity or anything that had made it seem as if their plan was blown. “I worked out that _he_ was the one who hacked the RFA messenger. Only V knows”-Jumin’s eyes darken at that fact.

“You didn’t think it was a good idea to tell me? To tell _MC?”_ his voice breaks a little. “Tell me now!” Jumin demands, grabbing onto the lapels of Seven’s grey suit and there are a couple of gasps and murmurs of disapproval as he tugs the boy towards him. “Is he a threat to MC?”

“He’s good at computers, _almost_ as good as me.” Seven adjusts his wonky glasses. 

“Is he a threat to MC?” Jumin growls.

“He calls Rika, ‘Saviour,’ and he seemed angry at me. When I looked at the coding there were secret messages hidden in it for me- _that_ was what gave him away when he hacked the messenger,” Seven looks both chastised now and fearful of Jumin’s reaction. “I didn’t want to believe it, _but”-_

“And you just let MC walk in there when she was _only_ expecting to have to deal with Rika and no one else?” Jumin shakes him a little, venting some of his anger on the boy, whilst his heart beats rapidly out of fear for his girlfriend. 

“You are not the _only_ one who is shocked! I believed that Saeran wasn’t even in the country! I thought he had been sent away for his education! I never thought that _Rika”-_

“Then you should have told me!”

“V persuaded me that it would be okay! He said that MC was going to go in there anyway, no matter _what_ we did around her”-Jumin acknowledges that is true in spite of himself-“And that it might be simpler if we just kept her focus a narrow one, that we could _depend_ on her to adjust for Saeran and get him out of there!”-

“Putting other people first is MC’s weakness and she will now be at _risk_ because of such a thing!” Seven goes pale.

_“I”-_ they both know that V has manipulated them. 

“What is going on?” comes V’s voice now and it’s like a gong bangs in Jumin’s chest when he hears the sound. He looks at his friend with a dark intent about his face, _hoping_ that despite his poor eyesight his friend can see the murderous expression there. 

“I don’t know,” Yoosung eventually replies to him and he sounds shocked. “Jumin just grabbed Seven out of the blue.” 

“You have risked MC and put Rika before her”- Jumin thrusts Seven back from him now. The boy staggers a little and then brushes a little absent-mindedly at his clothes, looking anxiously between Jumin and V all the while. 

_“Jumin…”_ V says almost wistfully. Can’t his friend understand? Hasn't _he_ been doing the same with MC all this time? Putting her on a pedestal and before everyone else? Doesn't he _know_ by now that, that is part of love? 

“All to protect Rika and maybe to cover up your own mistakes.” V flinches at Jumin’s harsh words. “You could not admit that you hadn’t been able to keep Rika from Saeran too. That you hadn’t been able to _stop_ her from ruining his life. It must have been hard enough when Seven found out. And now _MC_ -well I will not let her pay for this as well. She has been through enough,” he decides. 

“What do you mean?” Yoosung asks him confusedly, but Jumin has already started to march off towards the church gates. “How can Rika have _anything_ to do with MC now? You are talking as if”-

“Rika is still alive,” Seven tells Yoosung abruptly, before he hurries after Jumin. His face is full of pain, hurt, sadness, fear, but also determination. No matter _what_ has happened to Saeran in the past he will _not_ let him down now. Murmurs because of Seven’s words rise up from the people who had thought that they were there to mourn Rika that day. _Yoosung,_ despite his mother’s protests, goes after the others as well, dragging V with him and not wanting to let the turquoise-haired teen out of his sight for a moment. A worried looking Jaehee and Zen follow after them. 

“Where are we all going?” Yoosung wonders as they all make it onto the pavement outside the church and look down the long line of cars that have been waiting for the mourners to finish, but which will now seemingly be hi-jacked by them.

“To try and help my brother and MC,” Seven fills him in. 

“But why do they-I never _knew_ you had a brother”- Yoosung allows himself to be quickly distracted by the fact. 

“I will take the first car. Seven can come with me,” Jumin cuts through him now, having no time for all these explanations when his princess is not a hundred per cent safe. “And… _V.”_ The darkness in his tone as he says the name of his oldest friend catches them all off guard apart from V and Seven who expect such a thing. “The rest of you can do what you like.” Jumin makes for the car now, already thinking of the money that he might need in order to persuade the driver to abandon his post and take them instead. Seven is left to drag V behind him and he does so with a force that Jumin senses has been building up inside him ever since Seven found out that his brother had not been taken care of as he had thought he had been and that Jumin does not care enough in that moment to stop. V is getting what he deserves as far as he’s concerned and thankfully it does not take a lot of money to persuade the driver. They get inside the car. 

**A bit earlier…**

MC looks around the dimly lit entrance hall of the abandoned orphanage. The place is doing better on the inside than it is on the outside. There are some cobwebs across the corners of the landscape oil paintings that have surely been donated by the rich people in the city who had thought that what children needed was an education and not love and which are dotted around the draughty hall. There are ominous looking footprints in the dust of the once blue, now near black, stair-carpet, that stirs something uncomfortable up on the back of her neck and the banister of the stairs is crumbling. But it is not quite as bad as she’d _thought_ it would be, at least _that’s_ what she tells herself. Rika does not seem to be interested in giving her a tour or in speaking to her in that moment and so MC follows after her cautiously, her arms feeling cold as she does such a thing. She hears the sound of electronic humming and stops for a moment, cocking her head curiously. 

Rika utters a little laugh at the expression that is on her face. _“Come.”_ She practically _skips_ to the next floor at that point and is clearly comfortable and in her element there. MC feels all the uneasier about that. 

On the landing there are a set of doors opposite the stairs, which leads them to a similarly furnished hallway-it has the same carpet that had gone along the stairs, though this part of it is in a better condition and the blue shines through more clearly, whilst there are brackets and doors along the way to another set of double doors right down at its far end. The buzz of electricity is louder. MC would like to see what is _inside_ the rooms, but Rika seems keen to take her to the doors at the far end and _so,_ not wanting to set her anger off too much already, MC follows her obligingly there. 

Rika holds one of the doors open for her and MC slips past her and through it. The room is large and perhaps in its past life had acted as a main living room for all the children that had been there. The only two additions seem to be two straight-backed wooden chairs that stand in the middle of the far wall and almost seem throne-like in the way that they look and have been placed. MC ignores them for a moment and tries to picture the place as it might have been at one time. The orphanage’s occupants might have gathered around the large oak table that is on the right, but still close to the middle of the room, to play some sort of game, for a meeting or even for meals. The half-shelves that stand either side to another entranceway on the left, which might lead to the kitchen or some sort of storage space might have been filled with books and just how firm _are_ the cracked, but still intact windows on the right if she needs to escape quickly? Would they give way at the press of her hand or would she _have_ to push her whole body weight against one of them for it to even give an inch? Where would she land? On the bins that are probably empty after all these years? Why is the room so bare now? What are Rika’s intentions with it? To bring the machines that are causing the electronic humming into here and to bring this room to life again? Or does it serve another purpose in her mind? 

“As you can see there is still some work to do,” Rika sounds _almost_ apologetic now as if she had invited MC around to her home and suddenly found it to be lacking, _“But,_ if we are being honest with one another now then the _true_ reason I had to find a way to talk to you properly at last is because I couldn't _bear_ to feel you suffering any more. You have been doing so for so long and it is all _my_ fault. I left you like I left Sally and I”- Tears well up in her eyes. Tears that are full of self-pity, MC is sure, and tears which she has no time for. 

“I am _not_ Sally, Rika,” MC rebukes her tersely now, though she feels tense and apprehensive about the entire situation and as Rika draws closer to her-gliding more than walking like some kind of spectre. 

“You are so _brave_ MC, but you don’t need to be like that with me.” Rika blinks away her tears. MC hates her words-they are almost something like her mother would have said and she feels herself relaxing for one fatal moment. “I will keep you safe here,” Rika says to her knowingly, as if she’d been _aware_ of the fact that for one moment MC had relented. “Thank you for coming to me so easily, for _choosing_ the place that I wanted you to”- 

“I think we _both_ know why I wanted to meet you here”- MC’s voice is on the verge of trembling. “This is where it all began for us,” she says.

“It is so _much_ more than that,” Rika explains to her. “It is the place of my first abandonment. It only closed shortly after you were born and then I was moved onto an orphanage that is further away. I came back and wandered in the area _frequently_ when a family adopted me. I wonder sometimes if it hadn’t been shut what would have happened to me. Maybe I would have ended up with _your_ family MC? We could have ended up as half-sisters.” MC blanches at that, before she feels angry with her.

“I'm _sure_ you would have liked that? You would have had the chance to manipulate me _all_ the time then?”

“I would have had the chance to _protect_ you,” Rika corrects her a little wistfully. “Get you away from your mother and _save_ you”-

“I didn’t need saving back then and I don’t _need_ saving now”- 

“Yes, you do,” Rika says, ever the patient teacher, “A lot of us do in the end. There are more of us than you might think,” her voice is almost singsong. MC stares at her stonily, so Rika goes on, “When all of the others come I will save them as well and we will _all_ live happily together here in paradise. This place might not look like it, but it will be _much_ better than if we were outside and I will make it a home for everyone who is like us. We will be loved here. We will think of it as”-

“None of us _need_ saving, Rika, and the only time we have is from you. We won’t stay here and let you manipulate us.” Rika’s eyes flash. “Isn't that what you did to my mother? _Played_ with her feelings? We won’t let you do that to us.” 

“You have been _brainwashed”-_

_“Brainwashed?!”_ MC laughs scornfully. 

Rika nods, and then as if it is her duty to explain she elaborates, “That is why I _had_ to sneak the letter your mother had left you out of your bag and take the most harmful pieces out of it, the pieces that went _so_ against me. I am glad that you always carried it around!” She smiles at her now as if she is proud. To think that MC had believed that the biggest threat to the letter back then had been from her father and brother! How naïve and oblivious she’d been! “I left you a bit though,” she tells her as if MC should be pleased with her and MC feels a sudden surge of anger inside of her, as if all the weeds that have built up in her mind are growing now and would quite like to reach across and strangle Rika. 

“And what would my mother have said if I _had_ concluded it? How _obsessed_ you had become with me from a young age and _how,_ as you have said yourself you grouped Sally and me together and considered us both as failures”-

“Your _mother_ failed you!” Rika’s eyes are dark and her hair is wild now.

“Is _that_ what you think Rika?” 

“Imagine letting your young daughter walk out of your apartment and across the road like she did with you”- 

“You don’t care about _me!”_ MC almost mocks her. “That is just something that you tell yourself so that you can keep believing that you are in the right, but the truth is that you were just _angry_ that my mother took me away from you that day. Isn't _that_ the truth Rika? How she spoilt all your fun and you thought you’d teach her a lesson? Didn't her relationship with Chairman Han give you _more_ access to her in order to do that? Didn't it _allow_ you to make out that you were just an anxious friend of Jumin’s who missed spending time with him because you _knew_ that would make her trust you more and garner her sympathy?”

“That _was_ the truth”-

“I believe it was in the end, but I don’t think that you _really_ cared as much about Jumin’s relationship with me in the beginning as you made out, did you? The lie became the truth in time though, didn’t it? You started to see the change in Jumin and you really _did_ begin to feel as if his loyalties were shifting. You couldn't bear it. You became possessive, as you would no doubt do with _all_ the friends who take the advice you give, but don’t _actually_ want them to heed it because whilst they still have a ‘problem,’”-she does air quote marks around the word, her anger protecting her from the fact that the theory that has been building up in her mind all this time seems to be a true one-“You still have their ear and their attention. Like Yoosung.” That point comes to her suddenly now. “You put the game he’s been playing on his computer to try and trap him in his state of grief for you and so that _he_ at least wouldn’t move on like the others have been showing signs of. You reversed it with my mother by pretending that _you_ had a problem for a change. What happened in the café that day Rika? Did you threaten me in your meeting with her? Said that I had to be separated from Jumin or you would do something dreadful to me? That the _only_ way to stop you from doing such a thing was if she killed herself? Or did she come up with that solution on her own? Whatever the case you were happy, weren’t you in the end when she did what she did? You got to kill my friendship with Jumin and got your revenge on her for stopping you from taking me that day. But my mother won in the end, Rika.” Rika bares her teeth. “She _knew_ that Jumin and I would be separated, but she had enough _faith_ in us to know that in time we would be re-united.” 

“And you think that you _haven’t_ been brainwashed?” 

“Are you really saying that, that is _not_ the truth?”

“It is only a version of it”-

“My mother showed you compassion and you”-

“Maybe she did,” Rika accepts.

“But it wasn’t _enough,_ for you was it? Compared to the anger that you felt towards her it didn’t add up.” MC cottons on. “And _V_ hasn’t been enough for you either, has he?” 

_“Why_ do you think I stopped liking his paintings so much?” Rika’s smirk grows dangerous now. “They just remind me of all the promise he had and how much he has failed me. _That’s_ why I wanted them to be sold, or burnt if it was even possible. You need to stop being so stubborn. You need to accept that you do _not_ belong with Jumin”-

_“Why_ do I? Just because V was not the one for you and you have unrealistic expectations of romance and life itself does _not_ mean”-

“Only _I_ can save you”- 

“And _how_ will you do that?” she asks her.

“By letting you live here like I have said”-

_“Not_ by threatening Jumin and trying to get me to remove myself from the equation like you did with my mother? What if I don’t _want_ to live here?” MC’s voice rises above Rika’s now.

“I would _never_ harm Jumin or you MC and I will save the pair of you separately. As for you living here I _hope_ that you will come to realize that it is the _best_ thing for you in time.” 

“And if I _don’t?”_ Rika’s eyes twitch. 

“Then I will have to make you.” MC feels chilled to the bone.

_“How?”_ she asks her more cautiously.

“You won’t be aware of this, but children from good homes apparently take medicine when they are sick”-

“I _am_ aware of that,” MC says defensively, remembering her mother trying to force some medicine down her when she’d been young.

“I have some myself. Take it and you will eventually want to stay here.” 

“And how are you _aware_ of such a thing? I assume that you haven’t been testing it on _yourself?”_ Again there is a disturbance across Rika’s face because of what MC has just said. 

“I’ve got somebody _else_ to do that job for me,” Rika grows more satisfied. MC tries not to look around her nervously and wonders again what the place contains. Rika laughs. “On the whole he is _very_ good.”

“Better than _V?”_ MC counters.

Rika’s expression grows cloudy. “He is more suited to me”-

“Because he goes along with you? Because he _helps_ you in your schemes?”

“He is not perfect”-

“Who _is?”_ MC makes a throwaway remark.

“I think we _both_ know who would be _most_ suited to me, MC.”

_“Jumin?”_ she utters in spite of the fact that she doesn’t _really_ want to bring Jumin into things too much. “And do you _really_ believe he is perfect or is it more the fact that he’s pulling away from your influence, which makes you so much more interested in him right now?” 

Rika’s expression goes out of joint at her words, but she soon smoothes it over again and says, “We will run this place together”- 

“And do you think that he will love you for locking him up here? Will you make him take your medicine if he doesn’t?” 

“He has been missing me. When he thought I’d _died”-_

“He loved you,” MC admits the thing now because she sees that she might as well and realises that Rika has probably _known_ about the thing for a while, “That version of you that he _thought_ he knew.”

“And I will bring that thought out in him again and he will stay here and he will forget about you and have _no_ more room in his heart for you”- 

“He has enough room for us _both_ Rika. He has already _proved_ such a thing.” MC feels emotional now and she takes a step forward. “Jumin thought that you understood him,” she explains, “That he could trust you and that you wanted the best for him and that you would _always_ be there for him. You have betrayed that image of yourself, but before you did he also found room in his heart for me. He _wants_ to be with me”-

“How _sure_ are you of that?” Rika asks her wickedly now.

“I am not saying that what you feel for him isn’t love, but it is not healthy for you to want him to _only_ have eyes for you. I think you need help Rika. I think you need help and I"-

“I do not _need_ help! I will save and protect Jumin and he can rule by my side!” 

At the same time as Rika’s voice crashes down on her like a whip MC hears some movement coming from beyond the double doors with their frosted panes of glass that are behind her and steps aside. A blurry shape appears. With her heart in her throat she wonders if it is Jumin and what will happen if it is? Could he _actually_ find Rika’s proposal attractive? Will he leave her for Rika?

Somewhat to her relief a boy who looks a little younger than them both with dyed white hair that has pink tips to it and who wears a red tank top underneath a leather jacket as part of his ensemble stumbles into the room. He looks at Rika first, as if she is his _entire_ world, but then the boy notices MC and he does a kind of double take. His eyes slide between Rika and MC for a moment. MC thinks that he must be the one who Rika had used her ‘medicine’ on and feels wary of him and what he might be about to do. 

Seeing the fear in her eyes Rika purrs, “You have _perfect_ timing Saeran.” 

“My head hurts,” the boy’s voice is rough and he clutches at his forehead, “I was just coming to find you Saviour, but who is this? I have not seen her here before,” he sounds both curious and a little jealous. 

“You must be _strong_ Saeran and learn how to walk on your own two feet. _That_ is what I will teach you once you have gotten over your issues,” Rika glances at MC now and the darkness in Saeran’s heart swirls all the more. 

MC, meanwhile, is still trying to work out where she’d heard the name, ‘Saeran,’ previously. As her mind goes back and doesn’t get anywhere it lands on the very first time that she’d met Rika. With a jolt she remembers the vermilion-haired boy and looks back at the one who is now in front of her. It can’t be _him_ though can it? Are the pink tips of his hair a hint at the red beneath? She squints at him. He looks stronger physically now. His eyes are mint green. They’d been gold previously and again she doubts his identity. The eyes that she sees before her now look _harder_ than the ones that she remembers too and with less light about them. If it _is_ him then something has stripped away his innocence. 

“You will _continue_ to feel abandoned and let down by other people otherwise. _You_ by your brother if you do not get a hold of yourself.” She looks at Saeran pitifully. MC recalls the other vermilion-haired boy. The one who had talked of church and ice-cream…

“Don’t mention that traitor to me!” Saeran snaps now and Rika looks disapproving, but as if she is _used_ to such behaviour. MC, however, _jumps_ at the high-pitched tone. 

_“You_ by Jumin who since you are not meant to be with will _never_ be able to please you fully”- 

“It’s time to _stop_ all of this Rika,” a sudden desperate voice comes and V bursts through the door, carrying his stick and followed by Seven and Jumin. Jumin clutches at MC’s hand the moment that he sees her, a wide relief spreading across his face. _‘I’ve got you,’_ his eyes seem to say, _‘I’ve got you and I am never, ever letting you go.’_

MC clutches on to him just as tightly. “She doesn’t care about the trap. She wants us all to stay here,” she explains, “She said something about _paradise…”_ She cannot go into the _exact_ specifics of Rika thinking that she is _meant_ to be with Jumin without attracting too much attention and also she doesn’t _want_ to do such a thing. She is still afraid that Jumin will ultimately prefer to be with Rika over her and hopes that they might be able to get out of there without the proposal ever cropping up.

_“Saeran…”_ a voice that nearly wobbles utters breathily now and MC realizes that Seven is staring at Saeran in much the same way that Jumin had been looking at her. Standing exactly opposite one another she realizes suddenly that Seven and Saeran are _twins._ There are differences in their appearances sure, but that is the conclusion that her gut comes to for Seven’s deep stare, which goes _beyond_ mere friendship and brotherhood. She realizes with a jolt that _they_ must be the boys that she’d seen when she’d been younger. Seven had been right after all when he’d said that he’d seen her before in the RFA meeting. It hadn’t _just_ been around school or because her mother had infamously dated Chairman Han and died in such tragic circumstances… 

_“Argh!”_ Saeran grips at his head and staggers backwards a little. 

“Be careful!” MC warns Seven. “I don’t think he’s in his right mind.” Jumin’s hand tightens imperceptibly on hers.

“What has she done to him?” Seven asks, his words coming out like bullets because of the fear that he has for his brother. 

“He might have taken something- _watch out!”_

With a sharp scream Saeran suddenly dives at Seven. Jumin tries to help, but _V,_ who has been listening quietly is far quicker, even with his eyes in the condition that they are in. He pulls Seven behind him and blocks Saeran from reaching his target by extending the stick that he has been using to help him walk. Saeran rolls backwards and moves into a crouching position. He ducks his head into the curve of his elbows and grips at his hair with his hands, rocking in his place. 

At seeing his brother how he had _never_ wanted to see him Seven’s hurt and indignation comes to the fore. “I trusted you!” He looks in between Rika and V. “I would _never_ have left him with anyone else, _but_ you!” Saeran lets out a moan. Half-looking at him, but _half_ -too scared to Seven goes on now, “I thought that he was doing well! That he was getting everything he needs-an education”-

“And he _has_ been. He is _much_ stronger.” Rika takes a step towards them. “But the process is not yet complete! I have been guiding him and allowing him to become the best at computers”-

“So that you could _use_ him for whatever this is?” Seven screeches now. “So you could hack the RFA?” 

_“No…”_ Rika says, but MC thinks that they are _all_ able to see the truth of her in that moment. “I only wanted to help him, help _all_ of you. I admit that if things had _not_ worked out as well as they have done today then he would have attacked the messenger again and lured you through that way to this place, but _instead”-_

“Instead we all came here just as you wanted us to and we both allowed ourselves to walk into one another’s traps,” Jumin concludes gravely and the features on Rika’s face brighten as she looks at him. MC’s heart sinks. 

_“Jumin!”_ Rika greets him brightly and MC, who can imagine how happy and welcomed such a gesture may have made Jumin feel at one time, turns into him and hopes that he _won’t_ be ensnared by her. Jumin senses her movement, but does not respond. He only has eyes for Rika. “I’ve _missed_ you! Its been such a long time, but I _had_ to get things ready for us”-

_“Ready_ for us?” Jumin furrows his brow now and MC can’t _bear_ to look at him. She knows that this is it. That Rika is going to _make_ him choose between them despite the fact that MC had said that she didn’t have to. 

Rika gestures at the throne like chairs at the back of the room. “Ready for us to rule paradise together,” she explains. “I will be the mummy and _you_ can be the daddy.” Seven looks surprised now. “I have been _looking_ for a daddy for such a long time.”

“This is not a game Rika. What about _V?”_ Jumin is curt with her and a little awkward too at her being so bold with him.

_“V_ does not deserve the position,” Rika is dismissive and MC feels for the turquoise-haired teen, “I _thought_ that he might, but he hasn’t measured up to it. _You_ on the other hand”-she looks at him now as if he is _such_ a prize and _both_ MC’s and Jumin’s hands are clammy with sweat and fear, for MC dreads him choosing Rika over her, whilst Jumin does not like the way that the situation is developing and is worried about doing the wrong thing or being unable to get MC out of there safely-“Well,” Rika tilts her head playfully now and pokes her tongue out at him. _“Will_ you accept and rule with me here? Let everyone _else_ be our children? We have _always_ been the best two out of everyone I have known.” She holds her hands out towards him. Jumin’s eyes flicker towards them. “Maybe you want an apology first?” she questions. 

“An apology because you _faked_ your own death?” he remarks coolly. 

_“No,_ for not realizing how perfect we are for one another _before_ now. That is why I am _hoping_ that my proposition can make up for it.” MC bites down hard upon her lip and soon tastes blood. Jumin has a troubled expression upon his face. “Don’t you re-call the happy memories we've had?” Rika keeps trying and wriggles her fingers at him, inviting him to take hold of them. “I accepted you and I will _always_ accept you. If you show me the same level of understanding then there is _no_ reason why you and I can’t rule this place as our very own paradise together and make everyone in our _own_ image- _teach_ them to be emotionless enough to protect themselves and _show_ them that they can only be accepted here and in this place.” She looks at Jumin imploringly. MC lets go of Jumin’s hand. She wants it to be _his_ choice.

“Don’t be silly MC.” He takes her hand back in his immediately and looks at her with a swift calculation about his face. He turns back to Rika who looks at their linked hands mutinously. “Here is where we differ I am afraid.” Rika’s eyes flash now, no doubt she is thinking that _surely_ he can’t be foolish enough to want to _stay_ with MC? “Maybe a long time ago I would have _jumped_ at the chance to be in such a place with you. One that is like paradise and presumably one where I cannot be hurt. I would have been flattered that _you_ of all people had offered me such a thing-where the threads in my mind could be untangled and I could _forever_ be at peace without having to deal with the pressure of being my father’s son. Maybe I would have thought it proof that you understood me and accepted your offer, but I will not accept it now. You see you can’t _really_ escape such pressures in life, not if you want to live it properly and there are some things and some _people_ that make it worthwhile to try and do such a thing, _despite_ such hardships. MC is one of them.” Rika makes a scoffing sound at that point and Jumin’s eyes take on something steely. “Even though we have been through trauma-the _death_ of her mother, and I will _never_ forgive you for any influencing role you may have had in that by the way,” V looks stricken at the idea that Rika had been involved in such a thing, “And our families reactions to us being together I _long_ to be close to her and she makes all of it worthwhile. She is warm in reality, whilst it is clear to me now that you only _pretend_ to be such a thing. _You_ do not give me that kind of space, the one that you are _claiming_ to provide here like MC does. _You_ are not kind the way she is. Her kindness moves my heart, but _you_ only make my head feel all the more cluttered and have done for some time now. _That_ is the unfortunate truth of the matter Rika. I would have _liked_ to understand you and maybe a year or so ago I would have worked hard to achieve such a thing, but now I have to accept I will _never_ do it”-

“You don’t _have_ to Jumin!” Rika interrupts him feverishly now. 

“Yes I do. For I cannot understand how you could _pretend_ as if you only wish to help everyone and how you are _still_ doing such a thing even though you have been found out. How you _fail_ to recognize the damage that you have done to MC and her mother, done to _me_ in fact and think that I could _ever_ forgive you for it. Ask yourself: was it kindness that you truly bestowed on MC’s mother, Rika, or did you in fact lead the way to her suicide as I now fear is the reality?” Rika looks indignant and V lets out a moan of pain, but Jumin goes on, “Did you _think_ that by not accepting my friendship with MC and now us as a couple it would endear me to you? It hurt me Rika. To have one of my _oldest_ friends-more to the point are you _honestly_ suggesting that I should be able to understand someone who, once she helped to take a mother away from a girl, wanted her to be robbed of any further happiness as well? I am _glad_ that I can’t understand that. Glad that I can feel _no_ temptation towards the kind of life that you are offering me. MC is my princess and one day, if I am very lucky, she will be my queen. _Not_ you Rika. I am sorry, but I want no part of this.”

Rika looks speechless and like she has been gifted the _ultimate_ betrayal. MC feels teary and proud of everything that Jumin has just said to the other woman. She gives his hand a press, before she lets go of it. He looks at her curiously. She takes a step forward. “Love is not perfect Rika. You will be bitter for a long time if _that’s_ what you’re searching for. Love might be having someone come and wrap their arms around you on the worst day of your life, _despite_ the fact that what has happened hurts them too.” Jumin startles a little at her reference to them on the night that her mother had died. “It might be the physical aspect and the comfort that also emerges from having someone understand you, something _all_ of us want I think, but it is also putting up with the rough times. The jealousy, the arguments, the parts where we _cannot_ understand one another, for no one can all the time Rika”-

“It _does_ exist!” Rika shakes her head wildly at her, looking as if she is appalled by what she is saying. 

“I'm sorry, but no,” MC too tosses her head from side to side. “The trick is to still be able to _try_ and trust that person _despite_ the lack of control you have over them and be _willing_ to sort through your differences and still be there for them _despite_ all of that. To work at it. To hold onto those pure moments yes, but accept that they can’t be the _sole_ part of your relationship and that they are more beautiful because they are _not_ there all the time. To decide that a relationship is worthwhile even _with_ that being the case. That is what I have decided with Jumin and it is what my mother decided before me with Chairman Han.” Jumin feels a great amount of respect towards her now. She seems to have _finally_ forgiven her mother for the affair. “I am sorry that you haven’t been able to trust in other people Rika and that you have had poor experiences in relationships, but if you let us all go peacefully now then I _promise_ that I will help you and not hold what you have done in the past against you. Going forwards I _know_ that you can have better relationships in your life. You just have to be _willing_ to get better.” 

Rika pants and stares at MC. She seems to realize in that moment that MC has _genuinely_ become the person that _she_ has always tried to be. Jumin feels proud of his princess in that moment and looks at her admiringly, awed by the amount of compassion that she is able to show even in _this_ circumstance.

Rika starts to open her mouth and say something now, but V gets there first with the words, “MC is right Rika. You can still be the sun. You don’t _have_ to let the darkness eclipse you. Let us help you.”

“It is too late now,” Rika shakes her head and looks rattled. “I-I can’t do it the way you speak of.” She fixes her gaze on MC. 

“Let me help you. We can learn together.”

“I _CAN’T!”_ Rika screams now, looking frustrated by herself and MC’s words. 

V, trying to get her back down to the level that she had been before when at _least_ she hadn’t been shouting, tosses his stick aside, limps over there and goes on bended knee before her. He grasps at one of her hands with his own. “Our love is like the sun, isn’t it Rika?” She is shaking and does not reply. “Even if you can't be the sun by yourself then we are together. I still believe that _despite_ what you told Jumin just now. You don’t know any way of being other than like this, do you Rika? That is the truth of the matter.” Rika shakes her head and seems to be _relieved_ that she has been let off and not held responsible for her actions. Both Jumin and MC feel _annoyed_ at the way that V is pandering to her still and acting as if their love is a healthy one that can go on without causing all the more destruction. “Then let us be the sun and who we are.” V gets up and turns awkwardly back to half-look at Jumin and MC. “I am sorry Jumin, MC…we will have to stay here and you will have to go. Take Seven with you. Saeran will have to stay here. Rika cannot do without him.” Seven looks anxiously at his brother. 

“You _know_ I can’t let that happen V,” Jumin says now, sweating ever so slightly on his forehead and upper lip at what is going on here. _How_ can they let Rika stay here? _How_ can they let her carry on manipulating V and God knows how many more? She has _already_ caused enough damage and how can V expect them to let her cause more? 

Rika begins to sway and moan now as if she _too_ knows that not even V can save her this time. Saeran’s noises get louder in response, as if the cord between mistress and servant is still strong.

A sudden sound on the stairs makes Jumin pull MC back and away from the door protectively. She looks anxiously between him and the entrance. Seven jumps back on the other side. Rika sobs. V holds her close and looks imploringly at what he is able to see of her. 

_“Rika!”_ Yoosung bursts through the door in the next second, followed by Zen and Jaehee who he seems to have escaped from. The call of her name is so sudden and confusing and threatening to Saeran that he lets out an angry cry, which makes Yoosung freeze. 

MC does not even think about it. She sees a flash of shining metal as Saeran pushes himself up off the floor. She lets go of Jumin’s hand after she tugs him back. She uses the momentum to launch herself forward and to cover Yoosung just as Saeran turns around swiftly, holding the gun aloft. She hears Jumin scream and it makes her heart accelerate for she has never _heard_ him make a noise like that before. She tries to look around at him and reassure him that she will be all right and that he doesn’t _need_ to overreact about the thing when she feels something nip at her body. It feels small, but painful and instantly starts to take effect on her body. She cannot stand. As soon as he realizes such a thing Jumin is in front of her and helping her into a sitting position on the floor. She protests at first because the pain feels worse that way and she only _stops_ doing so when she instinctively leans back and lessens the pressure where it hurts the most. Jumin’s eyes bulge as he further takes in the sight of her, but she is more pre-occupied with the wooden floorboards, which she notices have not been cleaned as her fingernails scrape against them. As she looks in front of her once more she makes out _Seven_ who is wrestling his brother to the floor, before he can do any more damage to anyone. She feels anxious as Saeran yells out and fights aggressively against him. Behind them V holds onto Rika-who is muttering in between her sobs in a manic fashion-against his chest and tries to shield her from the worst of it. His left eye seems to be anxiously fixed upon MC. Yoosung meanwhile is shaking and mumbling something at the side of her. Jumin has now moved slightly away from her and is arguing with Zen about how the latter is struggling to get a phone signal. Jumin’s voice is high with fright. In the end Jaehee tells them both to be quiet, that they aren't helping anything and she orders Zen to go down and onto the street where he should be able to call for help. He does so a little begrudgingly. MC chuckles a little in spite of herself. Jaehee and Jumin both crouch down before her, Jumin calling her, _‘Princess,’_ and she is so pleased to see them that her eyes well up with tears. They look concerned about her however and she tries to tell them that it is not as bad as it probably looks, but she can’t get the words out so she tries to touch them instead. Her hand leaves a sticky, red residue on Jumin’s cheek. He forces a smile at her and seems to _hope_ that it will be a reassuring one. She pats at his cheek. Jaehee pulls her hand gently away from him and MC feels angry with her for about half-a-second until Jaehee tells her that everything is going to be all right. MC trusts them both. She _loves_ them. She nods wearily and allows herself to fall unconscious, _knowing_ that she has done her part. 

*

When she next awakes everything is still and silent apart from a beeping noise, which comes rhythmically to her ears. She feels like she could be lying on a blanket of snow and would not be surprised if it turned out to be Christmas morning. The surface is soft beneath her. Her throat is dry and her hip is sore, but she takes a degree of pleasure from just _feeling_ beneath her. A silly smile falls across her face. 

_“Princess…”_ it is _that_ croak that makes her eyes flick open. A hand- _warmer_ and larger than her own-nudges against hers. A finger hooks itself into the middle of her palm, before it goes to caress at the side of it. Her eyes lock on to Jumin. His hair is unkempt and not even in a stylishly messy way. His eyes are red and there is a dark shadow across most of his face, but a tender smile manages to make its way there all the same as he looks at her. He adjusts his dark tie, so that it is tighter and straighter in a nervous gesture. She does not remember the _precise_ detail of what had happened at that point, but realizes that something significant had and that she is in hospital.

_“Jumin…”_ she says, lifting up his hand clumsily with both of hers now and pecking at it with a tremulous affection, glad to see him again.

He kisses at her hair and holds his place there for a moment. “Elizabeth the 3rd and I were so worried about you,” he confesses. She touches at his hair fondly as he pulls away. “We can never do _anything_ like that ever again. I nearly lost you.” 

The others, who she senses had stayed back to allow Jumin and her to have a moment together step forward now, perhaps before he can overreact and so that he might be able to process that she really _is_ fine. 

“Oh MC! I'm so glad that you’re all right,” Yoosung babbles away, before MC has barely been able to catch sight of him, “I was _so_ worried about you!”

“He couldn't even play LOLOL,” Zen interjects sardonically. 

“Zen don’t say _that,”_ Yoosung rounds on him, “It makes me sound heartless.”

“It _was_ rather inconsiderate of you to get in the way and make MC _feel_ like she had to”- Jumin rumbles now, before Jaehee gets his attention by saying his name and shaking her head. She grasps onto his arm as if to tell him, _‘Not now,’_ and to remind him again that MC is all right. Jumin desists immediately and looks down at MC a little embarrassedly. Through the semi-haze that she is in the germ of an idea comes to her. 

She grasps at his hand once more. “Where are V and Seven?” Everyone looks at one another awkwardly and Yoosung’s face looks sullen all of a sudden, though _regretful_ too, which makes MC feel concerned. Zen mumbles incoherently. Jumin avoids MC’s eyes and she feels worried about the situation and what might have gone on. 

Jaehee thankfully takes charge, “Why don’t we all give Jumin and MC a little space for a moment, so that he can catch her up?” she allows him no space to wriggle out of the thing. Yoosung and Zen nod. “We’ll be outside if either of you need us. It’s good to see you awake again MC.” She touches at her friend’s hair, gives her a heartfelt smile and leads the others out. 

Jumin sinks back into the chair that is beside MC’s bedside and _still_ won’t meet her eyes. She senses that he is _still_ taking in the idea of her being all right. He puts his elbows on the edge of the bed and cradles her hand in between both of his, concentrating on applying delicate, but ticklish rows of kisses to each of her fingers for a moment, before he smiles when her fingers wriggle away and concludes, “We should probably call the nurse and get you checked out.” He sighs and begins to get up once more and to move away, but she tugs at his sleeve and he looks back at her. 

“What happened to me?” she murmurs, sounding almost afraid and it sends tremors through his heart. 

“What do you _think_ did?” he asks her promptly, sitting back down and capturing her hand with both of his. 

“I remember being somewhere with you and everyone else. _Rika..."_

“Do you remember that we all thought Rika had died?” MC bows her head slowly, mulling over the thing in her mind. “Then we got a letter from her, technically it was _you_ who did so, _but”-_ she clutches at his arm suddenly. Jumin carefully draws her hand back down and into his, stroking at it. 

“The plan. The abandoned orphanage. We wanted to get things sorted and confront Rika”-

_“You_ were the most keen of all,” he says, somehow both fondly and fearfully at the same time. 

“But something went wrong?” she asks him in fright. “What happened to V and Seven, Jumin? Are they all right? And what about Rika herself? _Oh,_ and Seven’s twin brother Saeran? What _is_ going on with him?” she urges him to tell her the answers as the confrontation comes back to her in more detail. 

“They are _not_ the ones who are important here Princess, _especially_ not the one who put you in this position in the first place. When is it finally going to sink in with you that _you_ are the most important one?” He gets to his feet now and walks back and forth furiously for a moment. Her head feels dizzy from just watching him. “I was _so_ worried when you just flung yourself in front of Yoosung so recklessly like that. I would have given _anything_ to trade places with you.” 

She touches at her hip, as the final piece of the puzzle comes to her. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to”- she feels upset and shakes her head. 

“I would rather be _dead_ than without you!” Jumin almost spits at her. “Isn't that what you told _me_ before? Don’t you know that it’s the same for _me?_ Did you even _hear_ me earlier? I wasn’t fooling around when I told you that I might have lost you.” He rakes a hand through his hair now and tries to control his racing heart. “It has already been two-almost _three_ days now since you could have died MC! How many times have you said that you won’t ever leave me? You might have _done_ just that. Our plan was bad enough as it was, but you put yourself at _further_ risk when there was no _need_ for you to”-

“Are you _seriously_ telling me that you would have preferred Yoosung to take the bullet?” she _knows_ how much he cares for the boy and is aware that it is probably only the shuddering fear that he has felt inside him-like a bottle ready to burst-for the past few days that has made him say such things.

_“Yes!_ Anyone but you,” he tells her and she shakes her head as if she is more knowledgeable, which seems to frustrate him. “You _have_ to stop putting other people before you. That is what your mother did and it killed her in the end and it will get _you_ too one day if you carry on in that manner. You are the most _precious”-_ he can hardly go on at that point. She is grateful for the private room, which means that no one else is staring at them curiously, even if they _can_ hear them, despite the money that he must have spent on such a thing. She struggles up into a sitting position, but can’t swing around to sit on the edge of the bed that he is closest to because of the ECG heart-monitor machine that she is attached to. _“Don’t_ stretch your wound!” he moans. “This is _exactly_ what I'm talking about!” He comes back to her side now and chivvies her until she is lying down again. He sits and claims her hand with his, pinning it gently to the bed, but _firmly_ enough so that he is practically _daring_ her to move. She doesn’t rise to the challenge. She _knows_ better than that. “When you get out of here I’ve got a good mind to lock us in the penthouse and just have _everything_ delivered there, to _never_ take my eyes off you again. I meant it before. We are _never_ doing anything like that again. From now on you will live in the lap of as much luxury as I can provide for you and you won’t want for anything.”

_“Jumin…”_ she almost snorts now, knowing full well that they cannot live their life so closeted away and with the vague memory that he had basically pointed the thing out to Rika before too. 

_“Rika…”_ Jumin’s voice is thick now and he looks uncertain, as if the risk of her might still be out there and he _never_ wants to take a chance like that again. 

“What has happened to her? And _why_ haven’t you left for college yet?” she asks him. 

“As if I was _really_ going to leave when you were in this state,” he chides her gruffly. 

_“But”-_

“I’ve spoken to the people at the college and they understand. Classes don’t start for another week. I'm _only_ missing the introductions.”

She thinks that he might be stretching that a little, but lets him get away with it for the time being. She does however sigh, “I suppose the media are aware?” 

“They’re aware that _something’s_ happened,” Jumin looks tense. “Not the exact details thankfully or there would probably be talk of a love triangle between me, you and Rika.” He doesn’t look at her and _again_ she allows the moment to pass, knowing that his feelings for his old friend are probably more muddled than ever now. “They know that you’re in hospital and there was talk that you were giving birth at first”-

“Oh God.” 

_“Mm,”_ Jumin agrees, his face pinkening, “So I put out a statement about how there had been an accident and you were in hospital, but how you would be all right.” He swallows roughly at that, as if he hadn’t believed it himself at the time. “They've been trying to get in here and see for themselves, but they haven’t-and they’re _not_ going to”-his voice grows threatening-“Manage it. I’ve got security everywhere,” he assures her and she wonders now if she should tell him off for the thing. 

“V and Seven?” she decides to ask instead, concluding that she can _always_ go back to the matter of his heavy-handed security if he refuses to answer the question again. 

He looks at her a little knowingly, but her determined face doesn’t falter, so he sighs and explains, “Seven is in another area of the hospital looking after Saeran who seems physically fine, but from what I have heard mentally it sounds as if it will take him a little while to recover from what Rika had inflicted upon him.” She grasps at his hand when he looks both uncertain about how she will take the news regarding the man who had injured her and sorrowful about Rika’s involvement in it all. He looks at her, grateful for her calm demeanour. “As for Rika herself she has been sent to a facility in Alaska. Hopefully _they_ will be able to look after her there.”

“You are paying for it?” she guesses. 

He swallows and awkwardly talks to the bed as he confesses, “V is a little as well and Yoosung’s family have also chipped in a small amount, which is all that they can afford, but _yes”_ -he half-glances at her quickly now-“I suppose the bulk of it has fallen to _me_ to pay for. I hope that we will be able to earn it back through our future business and I am sorry that I could not wait until you woke up to discuss it with you. I felt as if”-he hesitates-“As if I had no choice,” he regretfully concludes. “I appreciate that it is a difficult thing to put you through after what she did to your mother and you must know that _I_ didn’t find it to be an easy thing to do _myself_ after the pain that she was willing to put you through, but Yoosung came to beg and I”-

_“Softened?”_

_“Mm.”_ The top of the curve of his cheekbones pinken.

“So does that mean you consider him to be a friend now?” she can’t resist teasing.

“Maybe,” a wonky smile plays about his lips, before he confesses to her, “I could not help it Princess. The thing that made it impossible for me to refuse was when Jaehee told me to think about if it were _you_ in that position and if I was unable to afford your treatment.” Jaehee acting as she probably would have done in that situation and trying to remind Jumin that, that was probably what he had wanted to do in his heart of hearts anyway, causes MC’s face to lighten a bit and she feels grateful for her friend. “What are you smiling about?” he grins impishly at her in turn, feeling surprised, but glad if she has somehow been made happy. 

“I think Jaehee should work for us once we get the business going-if she wants to that is-but she might be handy to have around, don’t you think?” she shares the idea that she had, had earlier on with him now. 

“I can bear it in mind,” he is willing to do so if it will please her. 

_“V?”_ she prompts him, adjusting her position a little, which causes Jumin to fuss with her pillow for a moment and he snorts at the way that she is staring at him in a fashion, which suggests that she will not give up until she gets her answers, before his face falls when he remembers what had happened between V and him and he tells her about it all slowly. 

It had been when they’d all not long since arrived at the hospital. MC had been taken away for treatment. Jumin had, had _no_ idea how deep the bullet had sunk into her hip back then or the long-term effect that it might have had on her if she _were_ to survive. 

“You weren’t able to get out of the way yourself?” Jumin had said pettily to Yoosung. He’d _known_ that it had been wrong of him and has apologized for it since, though as they have seen that day his protective nature is _still_ able to flare up around MC and probably always will do, but he hadn’t been able to help but snap at the boy when they’d been left in the waiting room and had all turned to one another in shock-with the exception of Seven, who had still been following Saeran’s progress throughout the hospital. Ironically he’d wanted MC of all people to comfort him about her injury, but of _course_ she hadn’t been there to do such a thing. 

Yoosung had looked as if Jumin might have hit him at that point. Jaehee had started to tell Jumin that he should calm down, but Zen had told her to just get a shaking Yoosung out of there. He’d then left Jumin and V to it with only a warning that they shouldn't make a scene and a reminder that it was a hospital. The tension had been as thick as pollution that they would have needed a mask for. 

“Why weren’t you honest with us about the extent of what MC was being exposed to?” Jumin had spoken first. “About what Rika had done to Saeran? About the extent of your failure? Was it to hide such a thing? I need wine… _God.”_ He’d rubbed at his forehead. “But MC was willing to do this for us all when quite honestly, _despite_ what Rika and she had been through and what Rika had put her mother through she didn’t _have_ to. It didn’t _have_ to be all on her. She could have left it as _your_ problem and carried on with her life. Now she is hurt because you didn’t have the decency to be honest with her and tell her the truth of what she was getting into.” 

_“Ju-min…”_ V had said his name in a whisper that he’d drawn out in a breathless way. “I am so sorry. Can you forgive me?” Jumin is still not sure if he will be able to. “I tried to give you a hint,” V had gone on at that point, as if might have helped things. _“Before-_ when you called me from the cherry farm”- 

“You told me that Rika could hurt you several times over and you would _still_ love her,” Jumin had remembered at that point, “But how was _I_ to know that, that had happened already V? How was _I_ to know when you did not talk about it or say such a thing outright? Was I meant to _guess?_ To see _through_ your words? Maybe if I was MC then I would have been able to, but I am _not_ her…” he’d been regretful and had bowed his head. He’d wished that he’d been more normal and able to connect emotionally in that moment. In the present MC squeezes at his hand and he looks at her gratefully. Back then however he’d lifted his head and had told his friend, “You said to me that nothing is stronger than the truth.” V had appeared to cower before him. “Yet what about the truth that you let MC go in there and discover for herself? What about the truth that you _ignored_ time after time regarding Rika’s condition? All the excuses that you made on her behalf? You _truly_ expected us just to _allow_ Rika to stay there with you and thought that all would be fine that way? After what _she_ had done?”

“That was just to try and get things to calm down,” V had told him desperately at that point. Jumin is _still_ not sure if he believes him. 

“And what about when you allowed her to manipulate yourself and Saeran? Was that just so that you could _avoid_ having an argument with her? She has been out of your control for years.” 

“I cannot deny that,” V had admitted, “But as for Saeran I _genuinely_ thought that she wanted to _help_ him. She’d known them both for years, before I even met her, as you know and I can only guess now that she met them at one of the children’s homes that she used to help in and not in church like she had made me believe. That the manipulation must have started there and that she sensed a _weakness_ in Saeran that she did not in Seven, but when I met them myself I liked them as much as I thought she did”-

“I _know_ that you seemed to take Seven under your wing,” Jumin had relented. “I _know_ that you tried to be a good influence on those boys.” 

“Mm. Yes. Not long after I first met them Rika told me that she’d found a good opportunity for Saeran. She even _showed_ me the website of the school that Saeran was meant to go to. It was completely believable and I agreed to use some of my family’s money so that he could study computers. I had _no_ idea that he’d never left the country and instead that she was manipulating him and putting the money I gave her into”-

“Starting a _cult?”_ Jumin had questioned him icily.

“Yes, and I don’t know where he got the gun from either. I hope it wasn’t from Rika,” he’d said, though they’d both known that it probably had been and that even if it _hadn’t_ been she would have more than likely been aware that he’d had such a thing. 

“You might not have been aware of _everything_ V, but you are clearly culpable in some ways. You _allowed_ her to do what she wanted on the whole. Instead of reporting her missing or talking to me about the thing you _allowed_ her to begin this cult. _Allowed_ her to have the space she needed to develop the darkness that is clearly inside of her.” V had looked terribly guilty and Jumin had felt the same from his own lack of action on the thing. “That is just the start.” He’d gone on to explain to him about Chae-Yeong’s letter and MC’s and his thoughts around it. At the time he had finished V had looked _all_ the more slumped and broken, unable to believe the full extent of what Rika might have done. “I was going to confront you about it at the party-I wish I had now,” he’d added regrettably-“And you would have had a difficult time stopping MC from talking to Rika as well, but then Rika _died._ Only she _didn’t,”_ he’d sounded as if he almost might have _preferred_ it in that moment. _“Then_ you had the audacity, after knowing about most of the failures that you had already committed, to get MC to risk herself like that. I might _lose_ the most precious thing to me because of you and because of _myself,_ because I didn’t confront you”-

“I am”-

“I don’t want to _hear_ that you’re sorry!” Jumin had suddenly flung himself at him like a cat with its claws out and V had staggered back-his stick had slid to the floor-and scraped against one of the waiting room chairs that had in turn pushed harder against the wall, its legs tilted. The turquoise-haired teen had let out a breath. “I want to know that you’re _actually_ going to do something about it this time!” he’d roared at him. “That Rika is not simply going to get away with all that she has done and _still_ be free to do more! That people like MC-who _always_ suffer by the way-are not going to do so any longer! But you _can’t_ understand that can you? Everything is fine as long as Rika and you get to have your love like the sun! _Well,_ it’s never been like that for MC and I! All we've had is the rain this entire time!” He’d held the lapels of V’s jacket and thrust his head close at him at that point, so that V, even with his eye injury had been guaranteed to see him. Jumin had been about to rant further at that point, but something about the way that V had simply just bowed his head, chewed at his lip a little and taken every accusation that Jumin had thrown at him had made him say with a pitying kind of disgust, _“No,_ I will not be like her. I will not be like _either_ of you. I am my _own_ person.” He’d let go of him and had taken a step back.

V had adjusted his jacket a little and just breathed for a moment. “She-She won’t get away with it now. I _promise_ you that I will face it. Your words are the _least_ that I deserve.” 

“Yes, there is no _way_ that she will be getting away with the thing,” Jumin had been adamant that _no_ one was about to just tip-toe around the Rika issue any more. _That_ was another factor that had led to him being happy to pay the fee for her rehabilitation in the end. _Alaska,_ and the fact that she would be far enough away from them, had _also_ appealed. That way she might _actually_ be able to get better _without_ causing them any more damage. 

“What happened then?” MC asks him keenly in the present. 

“He basically ran away on one of his little photography trips the next day. Said something on the messenger about needing time to sort his head out. _Him_ needing time! After what Rika has done to everyone else,” Jumin looks both aggrieved and disgusted by his old friend and she touches at his fingers sympathetically. He looks suddenly nervous. “What _exactly_ did she do to your mother Princess? Did you ever find out? Did Rika _tell_ you what you believe to be the truth or only _more_ lies?” She _knows_ that this must have been gnawing away at him over the past few days for him to overrule the other voice in his head that must be telling him not to ask such a thing now and goes on to tentatively explain everything that had passed between Rika and her. Jumin swears more savagely than she has ever heard him do before and then at once apologizes at her shocked expression. 

“Also Rika might have deemed Saeran as being weak, but she still had to drug him to control him effectively. He _knew_ deep down that the things she was getting him to do, and Rika herself, weren’t right.” He _knows_ that she is already trying to form reconciliation between Saeran and him, so that they can _all_ move forwards from this and he looks at her knowingly.

“Seven _did_ mention something about how they had found substances in his brother’s system,” he admits to her grudgingly.

“At least that part of it is done now…” she tries to console him. “We know the truth and Rika is hopefully getting the help that she needs along with everyone else.” Jumin grunts non-commitedly at that and thinking back to his earlier words she hopes that in time, and when things have settled down a bit, he might be able to forgive V even if he cannot do the same with Rika. Maybe if they’d chosen _themselves_ to be honest with V and to _still_ confront him about what they had found out about Rika, _despite_ their friend’s apparent grief and belief that he had been hurting just like the rest of them had been then things might have worked out better, or perhaps they were _always_ meant to go this way…it’s _her_ turn to sigh.

“I don’t want you worrying about anything,” Jumin tells her firmly at that point. “The only person I want you thinking about is _yourself.”_

“All right,” she acknowledges that she will at _least_ have to look after herself and put _herself_ first, whilst she is recovering and Jumin looks at her knowingly as if he will try and see to it that she does. “But I think you need to focus on yourself as well.” Jumin appears puzzled until she explains, “I appreciate what you are trying to do for me by going to college in Singapore, and of _course_ I want your mind to be at peace too and for you to be able to focus on your studies, but if America will be the best for what you want to learn ultimately, which I think it _will_ be if you are going to be honest with yourself Jumin then I think it is _there_ that you should go to.” 

“How will I be able to focus on _you_ if I do such a thing?” he protests, before he admits reluctantly, “I _know_ that there is not much time difference in the amount of hours it takes for a flight to get here”-

_“Exactly_ Jumin, we will work a way to communicate _wherever_ you go. I will miss you and of course Elizabeth the 3rd will too”-

“Like she is missing _you_ at the moment,” he interjects and she smiles at the mention of the shared life that they have together. 

“But I am not worried about it so much any more. Look at _everything_ that has happened to us in such a short space of time. We've had _both_ our families causing trouble, the media, all this with Rika and V and finding out more completely about what happened to make my mother do what she did. We would have been _torn_ apart if our relationship had been a weaker one and if _neither_ of us had _really_ wanted to do all this, but we have _made_ it Jumin. That tells me that we are already committed to one another. A little distance is _not_ going to break us. We are only at the beginning here. I _know_ that we can do this.” 

“Princess, you always say the right things,” Jumin smiles at her.


	10. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so pleased that people are enjoying this fic. :D 
> 
> Thank you for being here with me for this final chapter and thanks for all the support that you have given me throughout. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it. :3

**Five Years Later…**

In the end Jumin had gone to college in his first choice of America and had graduated with flying colours, whilst MC had opted to go to a college close to the penthouse in South Korea so that she had been able to commute in. Jaehee had joined her there for a business course and had graduated a year early, whilst MC had done the full four years. Jaehee had accepted the idea of working for Jumin and MC-even _though_ at that point the exact type of business that they would be going into had been an unknown one-and once she’d graduated had started to immediately help Jumin with the process of setting up the business, _Kat Karma,_ a pet therapy one where people with mental health problems would be able to [under supervision] attend a therapy session and spend time with a cat, which had been deemed suitable and also be able to buy products which would be able to soothe and help act as an alternative kind of medicine for them. In the future Jumin also wanted to sell a cushion with the texture of cat’s paws to enable people to relax and had begun to look into how this might be able to be produced. [MC was aware that she might have to curb some of these more indulgent thoughts, but wanted to give him a bit of free rein all the same.] The business would operate under the belief that if you were kind to a cat then good things would come to you and you would receive the help that you needed in turn and _also_ be helped by the cat yourself, hence the name. By the time that MC had graduated they’d got a building that could be used as their headquarters for a point of contact by the public and for administration purposes, whilst another building had been secured for the therapy sessions themselves. The original opening ceremony had taken place shortly after MC had graduated-though bookings had already started to flood in by that point and _Jumin_ -who was overall manager-MC-his assistant officially, she'd insisted on being given less of a title since he knew more about business than her, though _unofficially_ she is still more like a co-manager and his main link to the staff and any problems they might face-and Jaehee-who acts as MC’s assistant and handles the online side of things-had all been up to their eyeballs in work and in trying to make a successful start to it all-and once again Jumin and MC had, had to face the press on that opening day. The attention on them had dimmed somewhat since they had managed to stay together throughout their years in college through talking on the phone and via video link as often as they’d been able to and by occasionally visiting one another to boot. The long distance between them had not _always_ been an easy thing to cope with-Jumin had gotten in trouble once with Zen for using the messenger in a diary-like fashion to describe to everyone how cute MC was, how much he missed her and how he _hoped_ that when he eventually was able to get off to sleep that he’d dream about her that night, MC hadn’t minded it _all_ that much herself-and there had been _many_ tough days with them apart, but there had been enough things for them to both focus on what with their respective studies and MC had, had the great network of support from the RFA around her so it had not been as difficult in the end as it might have been. It had proved to them both that once again they had been able to get through something and in particular to Jumin that the world would not fall down simply because there was some distance between them. There is still a fairly keen interest in their personal lives, however, and on that day of the opening ceremony of their first business together they’d had to field questions about _when_ they would be getting married, which had seemed like an inevitability at that point. 

“If you have a question about the business then we’ll be happy to answer it,” had been Jumin’s response at that point, but he’d shifted his hand a little upon MC’s waist and had seemed as if he’d been made a little awkward by the question. 

MC had thought that everything had gone well though on the whole. It had been overcast, but not raining, which had helped with the cutting of the ribbon process outside headquarters and Elizabeth the 3rd [who was of course the mascot of the whole thing] had been perfectly well behaved aside from a few moments of wriggling about when she’d _first_ joined them for a few photos together. MC had also, by that point, been more used to how the press behaved and them asking things that she would have _previously,_ and perhaps a little naively, deemed that they’d had no right to and so it had gone well for her. 

_Jumin,_ however, had seemed to be distracted about something and whilst she’d taken a moment to reflect over the day with a cup of tea on the settee in the penthouse-which is filled with more plants now thanks to her-and had looked out across the magnificent view of the city, Jumin had vanished. She’d imagined that he’d done so at first to take off his jacket and to get a little more comfortable. He’d gotten up earlier than her and had been in the same clothes for all that time after all. But when he’d retuned he’d _still_ been in his jacket and had stopped in front of her. She’d glanced up at him with a smile, but her expression had soon faded upon seeing his serious one. “Jumin is everything all right? Did your _father”-_

“He called the venture a, ‘too arty one for his personal tastes,’ but wished us all the best via the media, which is more than I could have hoped for”- he’d reported to her.

_“Oh,_ well that’s good I guess,” she’d tried to run with the positive. Chairman Han had _also_ been generous by allowing them to buy the cherry farm outright from him and she lives in hope that reconciliation might still be possible for Jumin and him. “But _what’s”-_ he’d still looked on edge about something. 

“I have been working on a cross-stitch piece for some time,” he’d murmured at that point, “Would you care to see it?” the question and the _way_ that he’d fiddled with his cuffs as he’d asked her _hadn’t_ reassured her. He’d tended to _only_ do cross-stitch when he was stressed out about something and had used it as a hint on _more_ than one occasion that he’d wanted to talk to her and had been _trying_ to find an opening for such a thing, spending time on his cross-stitch piece in front of her until he’d had the chance or worked himself up enough to do it or she’d _recognized_ the situation enough to ask him about it. The fact that he _hadn’t_ done it in front of her that time had made her be all the more curious and concerned about what it _might_ be to do with. She hadn’t been able to help but worry that he’d changed his mind and hadn’t wanted to work with her any more when previously _she’d_ been the negative one about it-having cursed herself for not being as clever as Jaehee and being able to graduate early. She’d swallowed. Had Jumin seen her incompetence for _himself_ by that point? Seen how green and fresh she was to the industry? “There is a saying: _‘People go alone if they want to go fast and together if they want to go far.’”_ He’d looked at her for a moment then as if that had been meant to clear things up, fidgeted with his cuffs and scurried off. Unsurely she’d stroked at Elizabeth the 3rd who had slept soundly beside her. The soft light from the lamp on the end table had made the cat look angelic and holy, which had reassured her somewhat. 

“It occurred to me, some time ago actually and when I was still in college,” Jumin’s voice had come to her once more and had made her jump. He’d looked at her empathetically as he’d stopped in front of her. “That although the media”-MC had stiffened slightly then for _whenever_ Jumin mentioned the media it _rarely_ led to anything good-“And all of our friends”-he’d paused at that point and the weight of V, who had _still_ not returned, had filled the room-“The wider world in general assume that we will get married”-MC’s heart had frozen at that point and she’d half-expected _that_ to be the point when he’d told her that he hadn’t wanted _that_ either-“It’s what I can only _hope_ will happen and have done for some time,” he’d gone down on one elegant knee before her. He’d bowed his head deeply and she'd stared at him. “But there has never been the matter of an official proposal, so here it is.” MC’s heart had started to beat _twice_ as hard when she’d heard such words. Tears had pricked at her eyes automatically. He’d cradled the cross-stitch piece so carefully in his hands that she hadn’t been able to see the pattern that had been upon it. Elizabeth the 3rd had lifted a sleepy head and had looked at him enquiringly. He’d smiled at the cat’s attention, but had kept his eyes firmly on MC. She’d reached for his hand. His tender grin had grown at that point and he’d unfurled the cross-stitch piece upon her lap. _‘Marry me?’_ it had said in bold purple lettering. A red heart had been carefully stitched in each corner, joined by a red line of kisses in a cross form, which had made up the frame. Just beneath the main bold question had been two couple rings-which serve instead of an engagement ring in South Korea-and had been fastened into place there. One had been a plain silver band and the other a diamond ring-the one meant for _her_ if she were to accept his proposal. It had not _failed_ to sparkle in the light at that moment and she’d felt _sure_ that it would have done the same on her finger too, but it had not been a massive rock all the same and she’d liked it immensely. It had been attached to two pieces of silver that had crossed over in a pretty fashion like two twines of thread or even a _plant._ “I have had this completed for a while now. There have been many times throughout the past five years where I have wanted to ask for your hand. I even had an idea at one time that we could possibly get married on one of my visits from college, _but,_ and after some discussion with the others, I concluded it would have been selfish of me and _unfair_ to rush the procedure or try to plan it from such a distance. In any case people _knew_ that we were together. It did not stop me from being jealous; as you know at times…” he’d trailed off for a moment and she’d squeezed at his hand to bring him back to her. “I decided to wait.” He’d smiled at her. “For a hopefully more settled time when we would _both_ have our initial education behind us and where the business was more in place and I would be able to offer you more and be _more_ of the man that I want to be for you.” She’d shaken her head at his constant need to please her and his niggling fear that she would reject him _even_ at that point. “I can think of no better day, and nor can I wait any more I fear”-she’d chuckled a little wetly at that-“Than today when we have officially begun our _first,_ of many I hope, joint ventures with one another. I have never been prouder of all the progress that you have made to help make it happen. I would be greatly honoured if you would do me the great blessing of agreeing to become my wife.” He’d taken a bit of a breath at that point. “MC, will you marry me?” Jumin had re-iterated and had looked at her imploringly. “I _know_ that I am asking you quite privately now,” he’d gone on before she’d been able to answer him, “And I am doing so because after having spoken to Jaehee about the whole thing-she told me that I could not propose to you on the messenger,” MC had laughed at that point, “And that you might prefer a more private affair and I myself, though I would be happy to declare my love for you from the rooftops, as you are aware, find that I _quite_ like this myself now that it is happening, as it is just between us. What do you think Princess?” He’d looked at her reverentially in that moment. “Will you say that you’ll be mine in the most official way? Will you allow us to do even _more_ things together and grow old with one another? Will you let me be your life-companion?”

Elizabeth the 3rd had meowed at the same time that MC had said a watery, _“Yes.”_

Jumin, who had been worried that he would have had to propose to her every day until she’d said yes-though he would have done such a thing of course-had beamed at her and then at his cat, as if to ask her to _look_ at what had just happened and whether she would have even _believed_ the thing to be possible only a few years ago. He’d reverted all of his attention back to MC and had kissed her with a soft passion about his lips. 

* 

The wedding of course, compared to the proposal, had _not_ been what anyone could have even _called_ small. It had taken a year just to plan-Jumin had wanted to get it perfect and MC had wanted to be able to juggle it successfully with everything else and not let anything else slip-and quite honestly it could have, once they’d gotten into the thing, gone on for _far_ longer than that. The guest list _itself_ had been a delicate dance. Both Jumin and MC-though Jumin in particular-had felt a _number_ of times just like eloping and on more than _one_ occasion if you’d looked for them then you might have found them stood in Jumin’s office with Jumin’s lips pressed to the top of his princess’s head, his hands upon her upper arms and both of their eyes shut as they’d just taken a moment, after they’d had lunch with one another, to shut the world out. The guest list had been so difficult because they were a fledgling business for one thing. They had started off well, however, and Jumin’s name _alone_ of course helped to open the doors of those that were prepared to look _beyond_ the drama of the past few years and listen to him, but it had still made sense to have people who they might be able to work with or who _might_ be able to help them in the future attend the wedding and reception. Disentangling the best of these, however, and who had gotten on with who had been a minefield and there had been the _none_ too small matter of their families to consider. MC hadn’t spoken to her father and brother since that eventful day when her family had gone with Jumin’s father to the cherry farm. When they’d been in the middle of writing the invitations one night-Jaehee was in charge of receiving the responses and in helping them order the final seating plan for everyone, which had seemed like it would be a military operation at that point-and she’d _finally_ had to make her mind up on whether or not to invite them she’d hesitated for a long moment and had looked down.

“They can _only_ decline,” Jumin had told her with a forced lightness to his tone, as if MC should just go ahead and invite them anyway. 

She’d looked at him with a tremulous smile on her face. “I'm not sure if I could _cope_ with that,” she’d confessed then and she’d felt cross with herself for a moment. It had been _years_ since she’d seen them after all and they’d only caused trouble for them in that time and _yet,_ whenever she’d thought about her family coming or not to their wedding she’d felt as vulnerable and as _young_ as she had been at the cherry farm. She’d slid off the arm of the chair [the seat had been full with the invitations that had been in the process of being completed and the coffee table had been strewn with the ones that had been] and he’d gotten up from the settee and had taken her in his arms. 

_“Princess,”_ he’d murmured as he’d kissed at the top of her hair and had tried to do anything, as _always,_ to get her out of her slump. 

“I _know_ I'm being silly,” she’d told both him and herself, “I _know_ that no matter _what_ we do and how _well_ we behave they probably won’t ever accept us and that they've done _real_ harm to us and shown _nothing_ but bitterness and contempt in the years that have gone by”-there had still been a trickle of negative articles about them by her family throughout her years-“I _know_ that you probably don’t even _want_ them there because of those things yourself, _but”-_

Jumin had shaken his head at that and had offered her his purple pocket-handkerchief when she’d swiped mercilessly at her reddening eyes with her fingers. She’d taken it with a grateful smile and had dabbed at her eyes with it feverishly. Jumin’s arms had cradled her protectively close to him. “If you want them there then we _will_ invite them. How _many_ times have I had to tell you that you must do what _you_ yourself want and to stop worrying about what everyone else does, _hm?_ After we get married and we get the house sorted”-one was being built for them at that point in time and had _also_ been the cause of much discussion between them, but Jumin had insisted that they _must_ have a house they could call their own together and MC thought it was probably because he wanted children too-“You must _really_ consider doing that more.” He’d nudged her against him a couple of times and she’d giggled and had spluttered. “You must be told _more?”_ Jumin had seemed to have understood her. “All right, in that case then I will tell you as often as I can. Every day if I must.” He’d kissed her. “We will do things properly,” he’d informed her when he’d drawn his head back [the rest of his body had still been pinned close.] “We will go around to see your father and brother, rather than just sending an invite to them.” MC had been apprehensive about the idea, but had _known_ that it had probably been the right method. In person perhaps her father and brother might find it _harder_ to turn her down and at the very _least_ they wouldn’t be able to return the invite unopened or simply dispose of the thing.

They’d gone one night after they’d finished at work. She’d hoped that her father wouldn’t be doing a late shift at the fried chicken shop. The walk from the car up to the apartment had been a strange one. She’d felt as if she were going back in time, shrinking a little and becoming a school girl again, on her way back there after a long time of studying and thinking about Jumin Han from a distance. It hadn’t exactly sent a _pleasant_ sensation through her… 

“It will be all right.” Jumin had cupped a hand around her hip over the f/c coat that she’d been wearing and which he’d claimed suited her down to the ground and had been her _‘power’_ coat. That’s why she’d thought it had been a good idea to wear it that night. The fabric had rustled noisily, however, as he’d touched her. “Whatever happens we will still get married and have the business and shortly the house and I will look after you for the rest of our lives.” Somewhat reassured by such sentiments, but with the knowledge that it had been _just_ a big thing for him as it had been for her because he _hated_ it when he couldn't prevent her from being hurt from something or _someone_ and he’d _known_ then that family had that power more than anyone else did, she’d knocked on the door. 

Voices had ceased speaking from the inside. Curiously MC had thought that she’d been able to hear a _woman’s_ tone. Shuffling footsteps had come to the door. Jumin’s firm grip on her had helped ready her for the moment-

A woman with short dark hair and a toddler on her hip had appeared on the other side of the threshold. MC had been thrown. She’d _thought_ that she’d gotten the wrong place for a second and had _even_ considered the fact that her family might have moved without telling her they had done such a thing and she’d felt terribly embarrassed and guilty for putting Jumin through the unnecessary tension of that night. The woman had taken one quick look at them, however and then had jabbered something to presumably what had been the apartment’s other occupants. Her eyes had gone back to them. MC had opened her mouth and then her father and brother had appeared in front of her. The toddler had treated her brother with a happy familiarity. MC had suddenly realized with a jolt that she had been looking down at her _niece_ and that the woman who had opened the door must have been her brother’s wife. 

_“See_ what you have missed out on MC?” her father had used the same tone with her that he had done ever since she’d committed the _ultimate_ act of disobedience by falling for Jumin Han of all people and it had been suddenly like the last few years and all the trials and successes that she’d been through hadn’t happened, but the firmness of Jumin’s grip upon her and the smiling yet confused toddler in front of them had told her that they had done.

“We have come to ask if you would like to attend our wedding? Father? _Brother?”_ She’d looked at them both. “Your wife and daughter are of course invited”- the woman had looked excited by the prospect. 

“You are forgetting our baby son, sister,” her brother had said to her tersely and she’d wondered what _else_ she might have missed out on. A marriage and two children had been enough! Right on cue a child’s loud cry had come from inside the apartment. “We have converted your old room into a nursery come playroom for all of our children,” her brother had explained to her and his words had stung. 

Her father had looked amused. “I suppose we might be able to attend this no doubt _flashy”-_ Jumin had bristled beside her at that point and a hatred had _flared_ up in his eyes-“Wedding of yours and put in a brief appearance, which will look good in front of the media for a certain fee?”

Jumin’s lips had pursed, but MC had pulled away from him and had turned around completely. “This isn’t going to work,” she’d stopped just a few steps away from them and had explained when she’d felt Jumin’s eyes boring into her back, “As always they’re only interested in what _money_ they can squeeze from us. Well, the answer is nothing. _Come.”_ She’d held out a hand for him. 

“I would have hoped that you might have been able to behave better for the sake of MC, who is after all your daughter and sister, who loves you very much and who has found it in her heart to come here today,” Jumin had murmured to them. He’d bowed his head in a mock politeness, before he too had turned away and had joined his wife-to-be. 

It had been a disappointment, but almost a _relief_ at the same time to know for _definite_ where she’d stood with her family. For Jumin, however, it had been an act that that gone so disastrously wrong that it had encouraged him to speak to his _own_ father again. 

“I know it would mean a lot to MC, whose _own_ family have refused to attend, to have you there”-it would give her hope, he’d thought then, of a reconciliation with her family and something to hold on to in the future-“It would of _course_ mean a great deal to myself,” Jumin had said inside his father’s office when he’d gone to visit him there. _‘I would never have imagined you not being there,’_ those are the words that Jumin had never spoken, but had _wanted_ to. 

Chairman Han hadn’t said all that much to him. He’d hummed and had shuffled a few things that had been upon his desk. He’d asked to see the amount of takings that had come in from Jumin and MC’s business and what they were thinking of doing in the future with regard to both it and their _other_ business ideas. Jumin had been reluctant to share such things with him. They hadn’t been _directly_ competing with one another, but they were still two separate business outfits after all and that wasn’t how things were normally done. He’d sensed a bit of a trap, but had finally relented to his father’s demand in the hope that _something_ good might be able to come from the thing. His princess had been counting on him-even though she hadn’t known it at the time-after all. He’d gotten Jaehee to ferry across all the relevant documents that his father had wanted to see in a discreet fashion. He’d frowned at her a little when she’d arrived and had handed them over to him. He would have _preferred_ her hair to be short and for her to be wearing glasses whenever she was in his father’s presence and perhaps _all_ the time really because his father’s womanising seemed to have _only_ gotten worse since they’d all but lost contact with one another-Chairman Han spoke about him in the media, whilst Jumin didn’t speak about him at all-and it had culminated in an incident where Chairman Han had, had a brief fling with one of their receptionists. Jumin had fired her as soon as he’d found out, but he was worried about his father and the wedding looked like a good opportunity to both allow an olive branch to be offered to his father and his father to keep his pride. He hadn’t _wanted_ his father to try anything with Jaehee though, as that would have upset MC and disturbed the order of what _he_ had gotten used to himself. MC had told him before though that he couldn't _possibly_ ask Jaehee to alter her appearance just to please himself without him coming across as a bit of a tyrant. MC had _also_ reminded him that with regards to Jaehee the woman was able to do judo and handle herself if she had any unwanted advances. Chairman Han had _only_ shown a polite interest in Jaehee thankfully though and had been more intrigued by the _documents,_ which he’d thumbed through, fired off a few calculations as a result of them and had muttered a few things. _Finally,_ and when it had _only_ been the pair of them in the room again, he’d lifted his head up to look at Jumin. 

“I would like a share in your business now and all of those that you do in the future and to be able to take _full_ control of the ones that I feel would fit into C & R best. I might be able to see if I can fit some time in to go to your wedding if we can do a deal on all those things.” The words had _hurt_ Jumin who had told himself that he had gone there more for MC’s sake than his own and to ensure that _she_ had the best wedding that she could, but of _course_ he’d partially gone there for himself too and had hoped to have some sort of connection with his father again. It had been a great disappointment to him then that his father, like hers, had not progressed as much along the years and would basically only attend their wedding if Jumin had agreed to go back into the fold of his family’s traditional company and put some of the life that he’d started to create with MC behind him. The _only_ silver lining that he’d been able to find was the fact that he’d _obviously_ managed to come up with something good _without_ his father after all for his father to be taking an interest in what he'd done. 

Out loud he hadn't been able to help but wonder, “When will you ever be able to accept Father that _unlike_ all the relationships with women that _you’ve_ had over the years my relationship with MC is a permanent one? When we have been together ten years? When we have had _children_ with one another? Just tell me and I will come back and talk to you at that point because I am _fed_ up of lifting my hopes only to have them fall yet again.” His father had been stubbornly silent. “In that case then”-Jumin had collected all his papers-“I suppose I will just have to add _another_ business person to the guest list instead of you.”

“You must do as you see fit Jumin, but just know that it is of _great_ pain to me that you insist on getting married to someone who I do not approve of.” 

“I _already_ know that Father,” Jumin had been brisk with him, but when he’d gone home it had been to seek comfort from MC. He’d explained the whole sorry story to her and she’d stroked at his hair until he’d been too tired to talk any more and had fallen asleep with both her and Elizabeth the 3rd curled up beside him. He’d dreamt of the perfect wedding day. He hadn’t _known_ that MC had been plotting things of her own…

Before her plan had been able to take place, however, and at their wedding party afterwards Jaehee, who MC had felt had been quite nervous and jumpy with her all day had taken her aside. 

“You’re not going to tell me that I _shouldn't_ have married Jumin are you?” MC hadn’t wanted to have an argument with her friend on that day of _all_ days. 

“Oh no, I'm very happy that you have done. _Anyone_ can see that you’re soul mates,” Jaehee had smiled at her at that point and MC had felt it to be a genuine one and her shoulders had slumped a little in relief. “It’s just that”-her face had grown more serious and MC had felt concerned-“I’ve been going through some changes of my _own_ actually.”

“You haven’t _met_ someone?!” MC had felt excited about the possibility. 

“No, no,” Jaehee had waved a hand and had a bit of an impish smile upon her face, “Though I'm hopeful that, that might happen if you agree to what I am about to ask you.” MC had felt intrigued by her words. Jaehee had smoothed down her dress and had looked terrifically awkward at that point. “I-I would like to leave _Kat Karma.”_ Jaehee had ducked her gaze. MC’s face had fallen at once and thoughts of _how_ she might be able to win back her friend had reeled instantly through her head. “It’s nothing that _either_ Jumin or you have done,” Jaehee had reassured her and she’d grasped at her arm. MC had felt a _bit_ relieved again. “You’ve both been _very_ kind to me. It’s _just”-_ she’d thought hard about her words-“This time has been _very_ useful to me, but it was never _my_ dream to solely continue in that way forever.” MC had nodded. She’d always had a thought at the back of her mind that Jaehee was _bound_ to want more at some point. She’d only _hoped_ that it wouldn’t have come so soon. “I would like to use all that I have learnt as a springboard to open my own company-a _café_ actually.” 

“You’ll be very good at that,” MC had, had to admit to her, _“Especially_ if you specialize in coffee.” 

_“Exactly,”_ Jaehee had been pleased that her friend had taken it so well, “Will you allow me to leave with my thanks and gratitude for what you have done for me?”

“Of course I will, and I was _only_ re-paying a favour.” They’d hugged at that point and MC had felt a great sense of loss as well as a new beginning between them. “So, separate ways then?” she’d asked her friend somewhat sadly as they’d pulled away from one another. 

_“Maybe,”_ Jaehee had looked a little mischievous, “I’d still _like_ to be close to the business district, however, so I'm _sure_ we’ll still see each other a lot and something tells me that you’re going to be _pretty_ busy now that you’re married.” MC had known that, that had been true and had smiled at her. “You’ll support me?”

“Of _course_ I will. We’ll put up anything you make to advertise and direct all our staff and customers there. You’re going to be _very_ busy Miss. Kang.” She’d nodded promptly. 

“Mrs. Han,” Jaehee had dipped her head teasingly in turn and had giggled. 

“Oh _God,_ that sounds _so_ strange.” MC had raised a hand to the edge of her lips. 

“Good though?” Jaehee had looked at her keenly. 

They’d laughed again and had drawn a suspicious looking Jumin over to them. 

_“What_ is so funny?” he’d enquired, as he’d looked between them at that point. 

_“Nothing,”_ MC had shaken her head swiftly and had allowed him to draw her onto the dance floor. She’d looked back at Jaehee and had mouthed at her friend over her shoulder to not say a word of what they had just discussed to Jumin. _That_ would have to be a disappointment for a _different_ time, but not right then otherwise she’d spoil the evening for him _entirely,_ and she’d wondered vaguely how much money he would offer Jaehee to stay in their employment just like he’d bribed her to join the RFA before. Some things _never_ change, she’d thought fondly. 

They’d begun to dance and now she smiles as something that should make Jumin even happier begins to take place. 

“You’re being very secretive this evening Mrs. Han. Laughing with Jaehee before and now _smiling_ when you think that I can’t see you,” he grumbles with his arms around her as she looks over his shoulder. From that vantage point she can see that Jaehee is looking _much_ happier and is pouring herself another drink, Seven and a more stable Saeran, who had _never_ been jailed for shooting her-rather he’d just had to do therapy, which she _knows_ had been most challenging for him at first-because he’d been under the influence of both drugs and Rika’s manipulation, are getting ready to entertain the guests with the fireworks from the joke shop that they now run together and Yoosung and Zen are talking and also drinking [Zen, whilst he holds a can of beer that Jumin had made sure to purchase just for him-they seem to get along a bit better these days and she has _even_ seen Jumin type in the chatroom that if anything should ever befall him then Zen should be the one who looks after her.] There comes a tap on Jumin’s shoulder, which makes him stiffen and tug MC to him a little. 

“It’s all right,” she reassures him now, looking at the last figure of importance, before she looks into Jumin’s suddenly wild and scared eyes. 

For a fresh scent that is familiar to him has drifted over and slowly he turns. He can _feel_ MC stepping back to watch the scene unfold, but all he can fix his eyes on and try to get his head around is the fact that _V,_ of all people, is stood in front of him. 

_V,_ who he has not seen since that whole debacle with Rika, and who looks well-rested and almost _relaxed_ for a change, tells him, “I believe that congratulations are in order?” He looks in between Jumin and MC with a wide smile upon his face. _Jumin,_ who is not one for public displays of affection unless it means further staking his claim on MC-in which case he is _more_ than happy to oblige-finds that as tears spring to his eyes all he can do is let out a choked sound and lunge forwards to hug his friend and the person that he _now_ finds he has forgiven long ago. 

V lets out a bit of a breath and delicately passes MC the camera that had been flung around his neck and which _Jumin,_ unintentionally but with his usual lack of care about the cost of things, is threatening to squash. He holds his friend in turn and tucks his head down protectively towards him. 

Switching the camera on and looking through the viewfinder at them both with a leaping heart MC feels as if it is time to make _more_ memories for their _real_ happy ever after is just beginning. 

_Click!_


End file.
